Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter
by MasterGhandalf
Summary: Raven thought she'd avoided her destiny after defeating her father and preventing the apocalypse. But when one of Trigon's minions starts weaving plans of his own, the Titans are drawn into a dark web from which they may never escape.
1. Prologue: Obsession

AN: This is a side-story to my main Titans fic series ("The Abyss Gazes Also", "The Art of War", "Child of the Stars", "Luck of the Draw", and the in-progress "Sins of the Father"). It will deal with Raven and some of the fallout from her defeat of Trigon, and will probably be a fairly dark offering. Also expect a role from the Titans East later on. Updates will probably alternate between this and "Sins"- I hope to post at least one new Titans chapter a week from here out.

**Prologue: Obsession**

The great city was wrapped in stifling heat beneath a brooding, overcast sky. Its buildings added to the atmosphere of oppression; in some ways they resembled those of the world above, the world of mortals, but they were dark and their proportions slightly off so that any unfortunate mortal who stumbled into this dimension would feel as if they were trapped within a terrible dream from which there was no awakening. It had grown worse, recently, as the master of this place seethed from his recent defeat, even as he gathered the strength for another assault on the realm above. It might not come in one mortal lifetime, or ten, or even a hundred, but in the end he would return. Trigon the Terrible would not be denied his prize.

All this passed through the mind of the figure who watched the city from the window of his dark study. He had clawed his way to as close to the apex of its hierarchy as one who was not Trigon could come, and he despised the place, almost as much as he despised the master who was a constant presence in his thoughts. It was galling for one of his intellect and power to be chained to the will of any being, even that of the godlike Trigon. He longed for freedom, to walk the worlds of his own free will and to grind them beneath his heel as a conqueror in his own right, but that was denied to him.

For now…

The figure turned away from the window, floor-length black cloak sweeping the floor behind him, and stalked towards the basin that stood in the center of the room, filled to the brim with swirling water. At a word from the being the water stilled, and then he spoke a name- the name of the one being in all the cosmos whom he believed held the key to his salvation.

His clawed hands gripped the edge of the basin as he stared at the face that rose from its depths. The time was coming soon, he knew- all his divinations pointed towards an opportunity to seize her arriving shortly, and he didn't know when he'd have another chance. Trigon could have prevented his minion's treachery had he wished, but the demon king's thoughts remained turned inwards, brooding on his defeat and his ultimate revenge- he might be all knowing, but if he wished to see he still had to look. That, however, was unlikely to happen soon- and by the time it did, it would be too late.

And so the black-robed figure bared his sharp teeth in a smile as he leaned over the edge of the scrying bowl and studied the face it showed- the pale grey skin, dark eyes, and blue-purple hair of the half-mortal creature called Raven.


	2. Chapter 1: Capture

**Chapter 1: Capture**

The Amazing Mumbo laughed madly as he burst from the front door of the jewelry stoor, a bag of diamonds in each hand and the store's employees left behind him tied hand and foot with brightly-colored ribbon. He did love his work, and in his experience there was nothing better for a magician than a captive audience.

Pausing on a street corner, Mumbo swept his black top-hat from his head, gave a theatrical bow to the stunned pedestrians who were watching him, and then shoved the bags of loot one after the other into it. The hat made a rather satisfied popping sound as it swallowed them, and with a flourish the magician placed it- no heavier now than it had been before, all thanks to the wonders of modern magic- back onto his head and began to stroll down the sidewalk, immensely pleased with himself.

Suddenly a pair of spinning red-and-yellow blades struck the ground immediately in front of his feet, forcing him to stumble back or risk some truly unsightly damage to his shoes. Mumbo spun around angrily, and found himself facing the one who had thrown the weapons- a teenage boy in a bright red-and-green costume, cape billowing behind him in the wind and fighting staff held at the ready.

Mumbo bowed. "Ah, Robin," he said. "So good of you to catch today's performance." He swept his wand out of one sleeve. "I hope you're ready to be part of the act!"

"Show's cancelled, Mumbo," Robin told him. "Drop the wand and tell me where you put the jewels."

"Now, now Robin," Mumbo said, waggling his wand reprovingly at the teen hero, "you don't really think you can take out a master magician all by yourself, do you?"

"Probably not. But then, I wasn't planning on it." At Robin's confident grin, Mumbo groaned and glanced skyward to see the slender figure of Starfire and the cloaked form of Raven both descending from the sky, along with a green hawk that transformed into a rather irate-looking rhinoceros just before touching the ground. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Cyborg approaching him from behind, sonic cannon aimed directly at him.

"Don't you all ever just show up by yourselves?" Mumbo grumbled, and then brightened. "But, with all of you here, I can really cut loose with a grand performance- and I promise you, it'll bring down the house. HOCUS POCUS!"

The magician leveled his wand directly at Raven- he liked her the least of all of them; she never was able to appreciate a good show- and was rather surprised to see a stream of brightly-colored gemstones shoot from the end of it with the force of bullets and aim directly for her. Mumbo'd never known he could do that before, and it certainly would have saved him a lot of work- but at the same time, with his luck they were probably fakes.

He saw Raven deflecting the gems with one of her dark energy shields (dark energy- how boring!), and decided to turn his attention to the others. Pulling a bouquet of flowers from one sleeve, Mumbo tossed it at Starfire and was gratified to see the plants shooting out, wrapping around the alien girl's limbs. Dancing aside from one of Cyborg's sonic blasts, he snapped his fingers and filled the weapon's opening with a ticking bomb, which exploded into a shower of smoke and confetti that left the big Titan stumbling back, coughing.

"Let's end this." Mumbo spun to face the voice and barely managed to dodge out of the way as Robin leaped towards him. Spinning his staff in one hand, the Boy Wonder began to circle the magician, his free hand opening and closing as though he was getting ready to spring for the wand.

"Sorry, my boy," Mumbo said, shaking his head, "but my act's still just warming up. Presto Changeo!" A flash of light burst from the tip of his wand, accompanied by a cloud of smoke; when it cleared, Robin's staff had vanished and instead his hand was wrapped around the thick body of an enormous snake. The Titan leader's eyes widened as the reptile lashed its coils around him and reared its head back to strike.

Mumbo grinned and shook his head, laughing. He'd forgotten how much fun this was.

* * *

In the realm below, the watcher gazed at the image of the battle raging between the mortals who called themselves the Teen Titans and their enemy, and he knew he had his chance. Raven was there, using her own powers in the fight- demon powered magic, but with Azarathian overtones; a combination the watcher found fascinatingly revolting. On the other side was the strange mortal with blue skin; his power was chaotic, undisciplined, and utterly unlike anything the watcher had felt before, but he knew that the interaction between the forces would give him the opening he needed.

Raising his hands above the scrying bowl, he began to chant, drawing upon his own dark powers to bind these disparate forces together for one purpose- to bring Raven to him. At first he intended to fetch her alone, but then it occurred to him that he might need leverage to force her cooperation. She seemed to care for the Teen Titan mortals, for reasons that made little sense to the watcher.

He'd best take them all, just to be sure.

* * *

Raven lowered her hand as the last of the gemstones bounced off her telekinetic shield. She didn't know why Mumbo had used _gems_ as projectiles, and she didn't particularly care- in her opinion little the mad magician did made sense, whether it was carrying out robberies as though they were performances or that one memorable time he'd captured her and turned her into a rabbit. What mattered was stopping him.

She knew that Mumbo had little magical skill- if any at all- in his own right. Rather, his power was drawn from two objects- his wand and his hat. If she could get either one of them away from them, it would undo most of the spells he currently had going and weaken anything else he might try.

Raising one hand, Raven closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching out for the hat with her thoughts- it was the more powerful of the two objects. There- she had it. Opening her eyes, she murmured her mantra under her breath and saw a tendril of dark energy reach down from her palm and pluck the top hat directly off of Mumbo's head.

The magician reached up absently, patted the air above his head, and realized it was gone. Looking up to see the hat soaring towards Raven's hand, he gave what he must have thought was a ferocious scowl at her (Raven, for her part, didn't think that a balding blue man in a cheap tux could do _anything_ ferociously). "Hey," he shouted, "do I steal _your_ props? Give that back- HOCUS POCUS!"

A bright ray of multicolored light shot from the end of his wand and wrapped itself around the hat. For what must have been only a moment- but felt far longer- the dark energy and whatever chaotic force gave Mumbo his powers strove against one another. Slowly but surely, however, the hat continued its ascent towards Raven. Without it, Mumbo simply didn't have the kind of strength to match hers.

Suddenly, a third energy that Raven didn't recognize- a darkness shot through with red- gathered around the hat and shot upwards along her telekinetic link. Before she could pull away it struck her, and she could feel it digging with red-hot talons into her being. Mumbo's eyes were wide- whatever this was, he wasn't doing it, and was if anything more surprised by it than she was.

Without warning the energy branched out, and individual beams of it latched on to each of the Titans. Raven reached out with her thoughts and tried to shield them, but whoever was casting this was too good- she could beat it, given time, but time was something she didn't seem likely to have. Then with a sense of growing horror she felt her soul-self beginning to separate from her body, and she was falling through a long, dark tunnel…

* * *

There was a brilliant explosion of light and sound, and Mumbo was blinded and blasted back against the pavement. He didn't know how long he lay there, blinking, until finally he could see again. The first thing he laid eyes on was his hat, which looked rather worse for the wear but intact; grabbing it, he rooted around inside and was happy to find both diamond bags still in place. Grinning, he flipped the hat right side up and planted it solidly on his head.

That was when he saw the Titans.

They lay motionless along the street and sidewalk, eyes open but unseeing. Approaching Robin, Mumbo looked down at him and saw that his chest was rising and falling, but that he was otherwise oblivious to his surroundings. Thinking for a moment, the magician gave him a quick kick to the side. No reaction. Whatever was going on here, Robin wasn't faking, and the other Titans seemed to be in similar condition.

There was only one possible explanation, as far as Mumbo was concerned. "I actually did it," he muttered under his breath as his grin broadened. "I beat the Titans!"

Laughing gleefully, he turned and continued on his way down the street, going into a little impromptu song-and-dance routine and idly wondering if there was anything else on this block worth robbing.

* * *

Robin groaned and sat up slowly. He felt strange- light-headed, and he ached all over his body, as if he'd just been pulled through a very narrow opening with great force. There was something strange in the air, too, a smell of something burning. Robin frowned. Mumbo was a criminal, but he was more of an insane, magic-powered nuisance than anything else. Setting something on fire wasn't really his style. The Titans leader opened his eyes and sat up- and stared around himself in horror.

The city was gone, and in its place was a barren wasteland, choked with ash and dust. Nothing grew here except for a handful of thorny plants, and the sky above was blocked off by smoke. The occasional glimpse of sunlight could be seen through it, and Robin's heart sank as he realized it was red. This wasn't Jump City- this wasn't even _Earth_. Looking around, he saw his teammates also in the process of waking up and noticing their surroundings, their looks of disbelieving horror identical to his own.

Finally, Robin found his voice and spoke the one thought on all their minds. "Where _are_ we?"


	3. Chapter 2: Into Darkness

**Chapter 2: Into Darkness**

"Dude, what is that _smell?_"

Beast Boy's voice pierced through the darkness that surrounded Raven. Groaning from the pain in her head- and something else her mind was still too fuzzy to process- she opened her eyes and sat up. The sight that met her eyes was a terrible one- she was lying on her side on a flat surface that seemed to be all rock; the sky above was a dark, fiery red and everyone around was the stench of burning that Beast Boy had noticed. Worse still was the _feel_ of the place- Raven hardly needed to extend her senses to see that the darkness here was alive, saturating everything and reaching out to trap her within itself. Worst of all was that she recognized this terrible place. She'd seen it in her dreams.

This world was like that which the visions Slade had forced Raven to endure had showed her she would cause Earth to become. This, she knew though, wasn't Earth, not even close- it had lain under the dominion of darkness so long that it had nearly forgotten the light. She knew it now, had been here once before, after she had become the Portal, though her memories of that time were still blurry.

This was Trigon's world.

"No," she breathed, sinking back to her knees and doubling up. "Not here. _Anywhere_ but here." She'd bested her father when he'd attempted to conquer the earth, but that had been a near thing, and even though his body had been destroyed, she was certain his spirit had survived. If he'd ever nursed any kind of twisted fatherly affection for her, that had ended it completely- Trigon's only thought for her now would be to crush his daughter before she challenged him again. And here, in his domain, Raven doubted she could win- or even survive.

A hand touched her shoulder. "Raven," Robin's voice said, and she looked up at her friend's face. "Are you all right? Whatever happened, it looks like it hit you worse than any of us."

"I'll be fine, Robin," she said, brushing his hand aside and standing on her own. From this vantage point, the dark world was even more horrible- nothing but emptiness and destruction for as far as Raven could see, and since it looked like they were on some sort of raised plateau, she could see for miles. In the distance, however, was a sullen orange glow that clung to the horizon, and she doubted it was sunlight. If there was any kind of civilization in the world of demons, Raven guessed it would be in that direction.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Robin asked her. "I asked Starfire, but she said it didn't match up with any planet she'd ever been to or heard of."

"And I did a sweep with my scanners," Cyborg added, "and I turned up nothing. No technology of any kind."

"That's because this isn't another planet," Raven said. "It's another dimension. Before Trigon tried to take over our world, an entire universe already bowed to him." She drew a deep breath before continuing. "I'm pretty sure that's where we are now."

The other Titans took a moment to allow that information to sink in, and then their faces shifted into masks of pure horror. For a moment no one spoke, and then Beast Boy split the silence with a shrill scream.

Raven glided over and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself," she said. "This is bad, but we can get out of it. Someone used magic to send us here, and I can figure out how to use magic to get us out."

"Someone?" Starfire asked in a small voice. "Do you mean the Mumbo? It was his magic and yours that were doing battle before we were caught in the tunnel of darkness."

Raven shook her head. "I don't think so. This is a bit outside of Mumbo's abilities, and besides, it's not his style. This isn't an overgrown magician's act- it's real magic, and very dark. The only beings I know that could pull this off are Malchior and my father, and I don't think this is either of their doing either. Malchior is still trapped in the spellbook- and I think we'd have noticed if he got out- and my father…"

"This sounds like something pretty subtle, and subtlety never struck me as Trigon's strong suit," Robin finished.

"Res- this _was_ subtle," Raven said. "Whoever did this didn't just bring us here- they separated our souls from our bodies and dragged them here. That would take a lot of power, and even more precision."

"So our bodies are still lying back on the street in Jump City where anyone can mess with them?" Cyborg asked. "Now that's just unfair."

Beast Boy pinched himself in the arm. "Well, I still feel pretty solid. Are you sure you're right about that, Raven?"

"We're spirits, and this is a magical dimension," Raven said. "We're made of spirit, but so is everything else here. We can touch things, and they can touch us."

"And can we be harmed as well?" Starfire asked.

Raven shrugged. "Probably. Why?"

"Because I am quite certain that they wish us harm!" Starfire pointed above Raven's head, and the Titans turned to see what looked like a swarm of fireballs raining down directly towards them. No, not fire_balls_- they had two glowing eyes each. Fire _demons_!

"Titans, down!" Robin shouted, and the team hit the ground as the demon meteors struck all around them. Muttering her mantra under her breath, Raven raised a hand and summoned an energy shield above them; one demon bounced off, and the rest steered clear. Finally the fiery rain ceased, and Raven let the shield drop as the Titans leaped to their feet. The fire demons surrounded them, outnumbering them two to one.

Robin drew his staff and spun it in his hands. "I don't suppose you guys are here for a nice, quiet chat?" The demons' flames flared, but otherwise they made no response. "I didn't think so. Titans, go!"

The Titans sprang outwards at the same moment as the flame demons rushed towards them. One of the creatures raised its hand and sent a jet of fire straight at Raven, but she caught it on a shield of energy and deflected it back. The burning projectile did no harm to the flame creature, of course, but it did knock it backwards and off balance. Taking the opportunity, Raven called up a wall of dark energy that shot up from the ground and tore the demon in two. The halves collapsed to the ground and evaporated; demons were hard to kill, and she wasn't certain if it was truly finished, but it had certainly been injured enough to force it to flee.

Looking around herself, Raven saw her friends handling their opponents with ease- Starfire and Cyborg had each disintegrated one of their blasts and were looking for another target, while Beast Boy had taken the form of a rhinoceros and was charging with horn down among his foes, his thick hide resistant to their powers. Robin had switched out his staff for a sword and dueled two demons and once, forcing both back. Raven wasn't surprised- these creatures weren't particularly tough. The problem was, Trigon had a literally unlimited supply of them, and if these failed, he'd just send a million more.

Raven was torn from her thoughts when a flaming arm shout out from behind her and wrapped itself around her torso. Cursing herself for letting her guard down in the middle of a fight, she wrapped herself in energy to protect her body from the heat and then lashed out with as much power as she could muster. The demon was thrown back with tremendous force, and Raven dropped to her knees. Pulling herself back up, she felt something tingling on the edge of her awareness. Turning, she looked at the sky, and her eyes widened.

A figure hovered in midair above the battle, about the height of a tall man but wrapped in a deep black robe that made it hard to make out any individual features. From one sleeve emerged a surprisingly slender, red-skinned hand that clutched a long staff, and four red eyes burned in the shadows of the hood.

"You're the one who brought us here, aren't you?" Raven demanded of the figure, rising into the air to meet it. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The hooded head turned to face her, and she got the hint that within the shadows it was smiling. Then it raised a hand that spoke in a voice that was clear and distinctly male, words Raven didn't understand and yet sounded familiar to her nonetheless.

Red lightning burst from the man's- demon's?- hand and arced towards the Titans. Raven shouted and called up her own power to block it, but she was too slow. The energy beams struck her friends as they fought, driving each to their knees. Then, as suddenly as they had begun the bolts ceased. The demon sorcerer glanced at Raven again and raised his free hand in salute, and then his body blurred into a jet of red energy and lanced off towards the distant light, the remaining fire demons following close behind.

Raven landed beside the other Titans. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I think so," Robin said, getting to his feet. "Those bolts hurt, but I don't think they did anything major."

"Speak for yourself," Beast Boy said, rubbing his head. "Remind me not to get on that guy's bad side again. Who was he, anyway?"

"No idea," Raven said. "But he was powerful- at least as good as me, maybe better."

"Perhaps he was the one who brought us here in the first place?" Starfire said.

Raven nodded, and Robin turned back to face the team. "If he is the one who did this, then he can undo it. I say we follow him, and see if we can't catch him and force him to help us."

"Better plan than any I've got," Cyborg put in. "Let's get going before he gets too much of a lead."

The Titans headed towards the edge of the plateau and began looking for a way down, so that they could begin following their mysterious attacker towards the strange, distant light.


	4. Chapter 3: Trouble in the City Above

**Chapter 3: Trouble in the City Above**

The Jump City Chief of Police was in the middle of one of the worst days of his life.

It had all started off well enough, but things had gone downhill rapidly the moment word got out that the Amazing Mumbo had somehow managed to get the better of the Teen Titans in battle (this happened remarkably quickly, as Mumbo had announced his victory in giant neon letters that flashed from several hundred feet in the air, could be read across the city, and were, if everyone's best efforts so far were accurate, impossible to remove). The result had been a veritable heyday of crime as both superpowered villains and ordinary criminals turned out in force to rob everyone they could find blind, or just cause general mayhem in celebration. The police force had turned out to stop them, but much to the Chief's disgust the vast majority of them had become so used to having a team of superheroes to rely on that they'd gotten badly out of practice, and even those who'd maintained their skills didn't get any kind of respect from the rampaging criminals. After a long struggle things had gotten back under control, but the whole city still felt like a timebomb that could go off at any moment.

Fortunately, the police had managed to recover the Titans' bodies, but neither the Chief, his officers, or the medical staff he'd brought in could make heads or tails of what was wrong with them. They were breathing and had heartbeats, so they weren't dead, but at the same time they obviously weren't moving or reacting to any stimuli at all that could be determined. Finally the examiners had given up and said it must have been some trick of Mumbo's, but that answered little considering that the mad magician hadn't been apprehended yet, and even if he was, getting a straight answer out of him that wasn't completely nonsensical was difficult at the best of times. The Titans were currently lying on beds in the local hospital under heavy guard.

The Chief of Police rubbed his forehead and looked across his desk at the officers who sat there. "This is a disaster," he growled. "Hundreds of crimes in one afternoon, most committed by metahumans, and our best defense against them might as well be vegetables. Anyone got any bright ideas?"

"The police managed to keep the city under control fine before the Titans showed up," one of them pointed out. "We could do it again if we had to."

"Yes, if we had too, but that's not the real problem," said the Chief. "The Titans were- are- symbols more than anything, and now that they've been taken down by a nutcase with a magic wand every punk and two-bit psycho thinks they have a chance to hit it big. And worse, sooner or later someone with half a brain is going to figure out how to channel that into something big. You want Slade sitting in City Hall this time next year? Then we need damage control, something big and fast."

The other officers shifted uncomfortably at Slade's name, the reason the Chief had made sure to drop it. No one in the room had ever met the mysterious criminal genius, but he cast a very long shadow, and that fact made him a most effective boogeyman.

"First," one of the police captains said, "I'd like to know what the examiners said about the Titans' condition. Are they going to recover, and if so, do we know when?"

"We don't know anything, and that's the problem," said the Chief. "At the moment, though, we should probably assume the worst. It's better to err on the side of caution."

"I agree that the Titans are important as symbols," said another captain, "and I think we can make use of that. Remember when they left a while back and another team came from… Steel City, wasn't it?.. to hold down the fort for them? I say we try to bring them in. We know they can do the job, the people know who they are, and it would send a message to the criminals that even if our Titans are down, there are still more to carry on where they left off."

It was a good idea, and the Chief was irritated that he'd been too tired to think of it himself. "Excellent suggestion," he said. "Of course, they might not be able to come, and even if they do they might not be enough, so I still say we should have other options. But right now, we need all the help we can get, and I don't want to wait any longer than I have too." Picking up the phone on his desk, he turned to his computer and started to pull up files, looking for the number that would reach the Titans East.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

The Titans East had been reached, and their leader Bumblebee had agreed to come as quickly as they could. The captains were dismissed to return to their own precincts, but one of them, a woman who'd stayed quiet during the entire meeting, had no intention of doing that, at least not yet. She had an appointment first, with someone who it was unwise to keep waiting.

Exiting the building by a back entrance, she made her way down a series of alleyways until she was far enough away from the police station that no one would be able to see her. Then her whole body began to _twist_ around itself, as though her flesh and clothing were both made of some gelatinous material, and her whole appearance changed. Her captain's uniform was replaced by a red combat jumpsuit, and her facial features, which had been rather bland before, changed to a visage which was striking, if not strictly speaking attractive. Settling into her preferred form, she pulled a comlink from her belt and activated it.

"Madame Rouge reporting," she said in a thick Russian accent. "I have information you may wish to consider."

"Report," came her new employer's mechanically distorted voice. "I trust you would not be troubling me over something trivial."

Rouge smiled. "Indeed I would not. The Teen Titans have been incapacitated, and I can verify myself that they are in no condition to challenge you any time soon. I am thinking that the chance you were looking for to expand your operations into Jump City has come."

"Incapacitated? Explain." Her employer's voice conveyed little emotion through the distortion, but this time there was a distinctly hungry edge to it that Rouge did not miss. "I wish to know the exact nature of their condition before I proceed."

Rouge gave a quick rundown of what she had overheard from the examiners. "And so, while they still live, as far as you are concerned they might as well be dead," she finished. "However, the Titans East will be arriving soon. I suggest you make your move quickly."

"You suggest?" Now the voice sounded amused. "I did not hire you for your suggestions, Madame Rouge, but I have enough respect for your history that I am willing to take them. However, I do not see the presence of the Titans East as cause for much concern. Indeed, if I arrange things properly, I might be able to kill two birds with one stone. Maintain your cover, and inform me when they arrive. I will have additional instructions for you then."

"Before you go, I have one question," Rouge said. "What of Slade? He does not seem the type to share, from what I know of him. Do you wish me to take the opportunity to silence him?"

A staticy sound came over the comlink that might have been soft laughter. "I think you overestimate yourself, my dear Madame Rouge- Slade is a bit much even for you to bite off. If and when he becomes a problem, I will handle the matter myself. Now, you have your instructions, and you will stick to them. Do not fail me as you failed the Brain. Command out."

Rouge snorted as she looked at the inert comlink. "Failed the Brain," she muttered. "If he had actually taken my advice he would still lead the Brotherhood. But as of now I will do as you command." Slipping the comm back into her belt, she concentrated for a brief moment as her malleable body reformed itself into her police captain disguise- the face and form of a woman who had been dead several weeks now. Smiling coldly, she retraced her steps back to the police station, completely confident in both her disguise and her ability to carry out whatever instructions her master ultimately gave her.

She was Madame Rouge, spy, saboteur, and killer, with a set of powers uniquely suited to those professions, and she did not fail.


	5. Chapter 4: The Demon's Curse

**Chapter 4: The Demon's Curse**

The black-robed figure came to a landing in front of his palace in the heart of the dark, twisted city. The lesser creatures that gathered before the gates scattered as he passed among them, gazing up at him with expressions filled with hatred, resentment, and above all, terror. Had he been another of the great lords he might have destroyed some of them for the sport of it, but he was not- such one-sided brutality lacked challenge and was therefore of no interest to him. Venting pointless violence against these wretches was beneath him, particularly considering he now had far more important concerns.

As he approached his black iron gates, they swung open to receive him with but a thought. The two pale, hulking guards who stood on either side stepped forward and bowed as he approached. "Lord Veneficus," the more powerful of the two rumbled. "I trust your mission was a success?"

"Indeed," the demon lord said quietly. "For now, I will be receiving no visitors- all outsiders are to be barred, even other lords. I must not be disturbed."

"As you command, my lord," the guard rumbled. "But, what of… _him_?"

Veneficus paused and turned to regard his minion coldly. "I do not anticipated his coming- but if he does, you know as well as I that he does not need to enter by a door. You have your orders, and if you value your hide you will not question them again. Am I clear?"

"Indeed, my lord," the lesser demon said, bowing yet more deeply. Veneficus nodded and proceeded deeper within his stronghold. He had sown the seeds of his victory now- all he needed to do was wait for them to sprout.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

"I don't feel so good," Beast Boy said.

Raven didn't know how much time had passed since she and her friends had been sucked into her father's domain. It was hard to tell time here, and she wasn't even sure if time _meant_ the same thing here that it did back home. She was certain one of her old Azarathian books would have the answers she wanted, but they remained safely tucked away on their shelves back in her room at the Tower. While the nature of demons and their magic had been something Raven had made a point to read up on in detail, for deeply personal reasons, their world was not a place she'd ever anticipated finding herself.

The landscape the Titans were currently passing through was perhaps the most desolate that Raven had ever seen. The ground itself was flat, rocky, and barren, the sky above a smoke-choked simmering red. It didn't seem like a place where anything could live, and yet there was a watchful, patient quality to it all that made the back of the sorceress's neck prickle. She kept expecting to turn and see a demon staring directly at her, but whenever she did look there was nothing there. After spending millennia in this place, she thought, no wonder my father is completely insane.

"I said I don't feel so good," Beast Boy's voice brought Raven back to the present. "And I'm not saying that just to complain. I mean, I feel like I've got a stomach ache, a headache, that I'm itching all over, and that I'm really tired but too wide awake to go to sleep. I don't think that's normal."

"BB's got a point," said Cyborg. "My organic parts aren't feeling so hot either, and my machine parts are getting sluggish. Are we _sure_ those red beams that guy in black was tossing around didn't mess us up?"

"I hate to admit it, but I've got to agree that there's something wrong," Robin said. "Raven, do you think you could try and figure out of that spell did any permanent damage?"

"I can try, but I can't guarantee anything," she told him. Gliding over to Beast Boy, Raven placed a hand on his shoulder and allowed her senses to dip inside him. Yes, she could sense it- there was definitely something off here, even by Beast Boy's standards. The energy the demon sorcerer had cast at him was still inside him, all twisted up and doing… something. Raven tried to probe deeper, but before she could discover anything useful her mind slammed against a wall of force that knocked her back into herself with enough force that it sent her reeling. Raven stumbled back a few steps before she managed to catch herself, rubbing her head.

"Did you find anything?" Robin asked. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," Raven assured him. "And I did find… something. Some kind of curse, and it's probably in the rest of you too. He's good, whoever he is- he's managed to block me from interfering, though I might be able to break through it with enough-" she was cut off in mid-sentence as a howl echoed across the plains, long, cold, and chilling.

"More demons," Robin growled, drawing his staff. "Whatever's wrong with us, it looks like it'll have to wait."

The Titans turned towards the direction of the sound as the howl echoed again. Shapes began to appear clambering over the rocks, four-legged with shaggy fur, spines, and glowing red eyes. Cyborg tapped the side of his head near his artificial eye, zooming it in. "Demon wolves, looks like," he said. "And they look hungry."

"But what would such animals eat in a place as barren as this?" Starfire asked.

"Us, if they can get us," Robin said. "But they're not going to. Titans, Go!"

At Robin's shout, the team sprang into motion, but the demon wolves did as well. Bounding over the rocks, they surrounded the Titans in a tightening semi-circle. Up close, Raven could see the ground hiss as their drool splattered on to it, and see the madness in their glowing eyes. These weren't simple animals hunting for food; like the other species of demon Raven had knowledge of, these creatures would take joy in killing for its own sake.

For a moment the wolves stood silent, and then a particularly large one, perhaps the pack leader, lunged forward. Robin leapt to meet it and caught its jaws on his staff; the durable metal sizzled from the wolf's acid saliva but suffered no serious damage, and with a mighty heave Robin shoved the creature backwards and off him. It fell among its packmates, scattering them, and then hauled itself back to its feet, giving a series of growls that sounded almost as if they could have been words. Then, on some unspoken signal, the entire pack struck.

Two of them made straight for Raven; blocking their snarls and the stench of them from her mind, she called up a shield of dark energy that caught both of them in midair and sent them hurling far back from the battle. Nearby, another wolf turned tail and fled after receiving several blasts from Cyborg's sonic cannon at point-blank range, while Beast Boy dueled yet another in the shape of an Earthly wolf. The pack leader himself was charging back towards Robin, who was throwing birdarangs at him to slow him down. The weapons stuck in the demon wolf's thick fur and hide but did little apparent damage; Robin was backing up and drawing his staff again, spinning it in a circle to keep the wolf at bay.

Raven raised a hand and began to chant her mantra under her breath, intending to come to his aid, but her concentration was broken as another of the wolves seized her cloak from behind and yanked her towards it. Turning to face it, she was treated to a far closer look at the demon animal's sharp fangs and drooling maw than she'd ever wanted to see as it moved in for the kill. Sighing and focusing her energies, Raven summoned a column of force that slammed into the wolf, sending it flying several hundred feet into the smoky air.

Turning, she saw Robin be forced onto his back as the lead wolf climbed on top of him, baring its fangs and lowering them towards his throat. Before she could act, however, a massive bolt of green energy struck the demonic creature; it rocked back and shook its head, but then a second and third starbolts struck. The singed monster apparently decided it had had enough; pulling away from Robin, it ran for the rocky hills, its pack trailing behind.

"That was close," Robin said, groaning as he sat up. "Thanks for the save, Star."

"Robin, I am so glad you are unharmed!" The Tamaranean princess said, landing next to him. She held out her hand to help him up- and then screamed and recoiled from it. Robin's own eyes were wide as he pulled himself to his feet.

"What's going on? What did I miss?" Beast Boy asked, trying to get a look. Starfire looked around at the Titans with fear in her eyes, and then slowly held out her hand. Beast Boy gave a small shriek, and Cyborg a low, shocked murmur of "whoa!"; Raven herself just barely managed to lock down an exclamation. The flesh of Starfire's hand seemed to be fragmenting, but beneath it, rather than muscle or bone (or the Tamaranean equivalents) there was nothing but pulsing green energy that held the rough shape of a hand. Starfire held it up and flexed her energy "fingers" before her wide eyes; as she did so, Raven could see the condition beginning to spread, very slowly, up her arm.

"What is happening to me?" Star asked.

"Is that the hand you used to shoot those starbolts at the wolf?" Raven asked her, and the other Titan nodded. "Then something tells me we've just found out exactly what the curse the demon sorcerer cast on you does- and I don't think it looks good."

# # # # # # # # # # #

Veneficus stood above his scrying bowl and watched as the first Titan manifested the symptoms of his spell. Excellent; all proceeded as he planned. "And so, Raven," he said, "you discover now that your friends have been infected with my power. You will try and cure them, of course, but without the knowledge of my spells it will fail. Only I can lift the curse, but if I am to do so, then first you must give me that which _I _most desire- and you will, for your weak human side can't bear to see them suffer. And so you will give yourself to me by your own choice."

Beneath his black hood, a satisfied smile curved the demon mage's lips.


	6. Chapter 5: Drawing the Net

**Chapter 5: Drawing the Net**

The room resembled a prop-house that had been hastily thrown together by a work crew who were either under the influences of mind-altering substances or else completely insane to begin with (or perhaps had started out mad and _then_ taken drugs). Objects of all descriptions were stashed in random positions across the floor (positions that, in some cases, thoroughly shredded the laws of physics) while what available surfaces weren't covered by junk were plastered with the image of a madly grinning blue face topped with a stage magician's black hat. The owner of the face himself sat at a table in the center of the room, going through his latest bag of loot and occasionally tossing an item that didn't interest him casually over one shoulder.

"Hmmm- garbage, junk, trash- ooh, diamonds, I'll be keeping those…" The Amazing Mumbo paused, staring into the bag intently. "Huh. No idea what that even _is._ Oh well, might come in handy someday. More junk, more trash, nice roll of hundred-dollar bills, definitely a keep…" The mad magician was so thoroughly engrossed in his "sorting" that he didn't notice the figure who'd entered his lair until she planted her hands on his desk and spoke.

"Very curious," a bland female voice said. "I'd have expected better from the man who finally bested the Titans; but then, you always were an odd one."

Mumbo gave a high-pitched shriek and toppled backwards out of his chair. Hastily pulling his hat back on his head and trying to regain some measure of dignity, he looked up and saw a nondescript woman in a police officer's uniform regarding him curiously. Instantly his wand was out and leveled directly at her face. "I don't know how you got in here," he said, "but if you think you can capture me, think again! I admit I'm not entirely sure what this thing'll do to you, but I can almost certainly guarantee you won't like it."

The woman laughed. "Relax. I'm not here to fight. I only want you to answer a few questions for me."

A policewoman only wanted to talk with one of Jump City's most notorious supervillains? Mumbo knew full well that he was hardly an expert on logic, but even to him, that didn't add up. "So, you're here to steal my secrets, eh?" he asked, backing slowly up but keeping the wand leveled. "Sorry, but I don't do show-and-tell, certainly not with law-enforcement who'd rain on my parade by shutting down the act!"

The woman smiled coldly, and the magician shivered in spite of himself. "I'm afraid that you misunderstand," she said. "I am _not_ law-enforcement." Her voice had changed, now, gaining a thick accent*- Russian, Mumbo thought- that it hadn't had before. Then her whole body shifted and reformed itself into a different figure- one that he gulped as he recognized.

"Madame Rouge!" he breathed. The hand holding the wand was shaking now.

She smiled again. "Very good." Suddenly one of her hands shot out, elongating like clay in the blink of an eye until it knocked the wand from his hand faster than he could react. Her other hand joined it, and together they shoved Mumbo back against the wall and pinned him there. Madame Rouge's head and body elongated as well, so that her face was directly in front of his. "Now then," she said, "I want to know exactly how you defeated the Teen Titans."

"Well," Mumbo said, "I'd love to tell you, but you know what they say- a magician _never_ reveals his secrets."

Her eyes narrowed, and then her fingers shot up and wrapped tightly around his throat. "You will reveal your secrets to _me_," the shapeshifter who had once been the Brain's deadliest agent hissed.

"I- ack- don't know!" Mumbo managed to choke out. "I'm not sure what happened; I was fighting Raven and something strange happened to the magic. Someone else might have been trying to hack into it, but I don't know. I swear!"

Rouge studied him a moment longer, and then released him; Mumbo slid to the floor, massaging his throat and choking. "I think you are telling the truth," she said half to herself. "You really _don't _know what happened. Now answer me one more question as if your life depended on it- which, by the way, it very well might. Do you know of any way the Titans' condition could be reversed?"

"I told you, I don't know what happened, so I can't be sure," Mumbo said, toying with his hat in both hands. "But if there is a way, I don't know it, and with Raven out of the picture I don't know of anyone else in town who might either."

Rouge smiled again. "Very good. Now, I have some business to take care of in this town during the next few days; if you are wise, my blue friend, you will stay out of my way." Mumbo could hear cruel laughter underlying her tone, and hung his head, preparing for another sudden attack. None, however, came, and when he looked up again she was gone as suddenly as she'd come.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Bumblebee sighed and shook her head as she stepped out of her meeting with the Chief of Police, feeling suddenly very tired and as if the weight of the world had suddenly dropped on her shoulders. She found the other members of the Titans East waiting for her in the lobby; when they saw her, they stood and hurried over to find out what she'd learned.

"Well?" Aqualad asked first. "Did you find out why they sent out a call that urgent for us?"

"Yeah, and what happened to the Titans here, anyway?" Speedy put in.

"Here's the deal, as far as I understand it," Bumblebee said. "The Titans are in some kind of mystic trance or something, and so far as the police know, there's no way to get them out of it. What's worse is that it wasn't one of the big bads who did it, just one of the local goofballs- Mumbo, if you'll believe that. And thanks to him needing to feed his ego, the whole town already knows. You can guess what that means."

"Yeah," Speedy said. "We're sitting on a powder keg that could blow at any time, as every two-bit crook out to make a name for himself tries to cash in while the Titans are out of commission- and if Mumbo got lucky, they'll think they'll have a chance too."

"And if someone wants to take out the Titans, then they've got a golden opportunity right now while the can't fight back," Aqualad added grimly.

"That's about it," Bumblebee said glumly. "I think we need to get the Titans back to the Tower- I've still got the codes from the last time we house-sat for them- and get Cyborg's security system up and protecting them. If anything can keep them safe right now, it's Sparky's security tech. Then we need to get this city back under control before things get really out of hand."

"Sounds like a plan," Aqualad said, and Speedy nodded.

The door to the police station suddenly blew open, and through it shot a red-and-white blur that skidded to a halt in front of Bumblebee and resolved itself into the final two members of the Titans East- the twins Mas and Menos. Both of the tiny speedsters looked out of breath and were pointing towards the open door.

"Bumblebee, problemas!" Mas said. "Hay algo grande que va en el centro, una gran bestia fea y un grupo de muchachos que todas se parecen, y están destruyendo todo a la vista! Tenemos que ayudar."

The leader of the Titans East put her hands over her ears, drew a deep breath, and relaxed. "Can you repeat that a little slower?" she asked. The Guatemalan twins had gotten better with their English since they'd been on the team, and she'd gotten better with her Spanish, but when they were stressed they still tended to only speak their native language, and so quickly she could barely make it out.

Mas repeated himself in an almost painfully slow voice, and Bumblebee nodded. "A big brute and a lot of copies of the same guy?" she asked. "Sounds like Mammoth and Billy Numerous, and that sounds like trouble." She turned to the rest of the team, drawing her stingers and sending electricity crackling along them. "Well, guys, looks like we're going to have to get started on that clean-up quicker than I thought. Titans East, Go!"

She launched herself into the air and out the window, the other team members following close behind. Somehow, Bumblebee thought, this was going to be the beginning of a _very_ long day.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Madame Rouge stopped in a back-alley a short distance from Mumbo's lair- the magician was probably _stil_ a quivering pile of jelly on the floor from her visit- and drew her communicator. "Madame Rouge reporting," she said into it. "I have news."

"Yes?" the crackling, distorted voice on the other end asked. "Good, I hope."

She smiled. "I believe it is so. I have spoken with Mumbo, and he does not know how he managed to put the Titans into their current condition, but he thinks it doubtful that anyone remains in the city with the expertise to reverse it."

"Excellent," her employer said. Even through the distortion, he sounded satisfied. "And the other Titans you told me the police were sending for? The Titans East?"

"I have not seen them with my own eyes yet, but according to my sources among the police, they arrived just before I went to seek Mumbo." She scowled. "I think they could prove problematic for us."

"Or they could provide an oppurtunity." The distorted voice became thoughtful. "The Titans East are in town to restore order, but they will also protect the fallen Titans; I know their type well. Loyalty can be an admirable quality, but it is also a weakness we can exploit. The Titans themselves wil be easy prey in their state, and the Titans East know this. Attack them, and you will force the newcomers to fight to defend them. They will be weakened, distracted; made easy prey for one of your talents. And then…"

"And then," Madame Rouge finished for her employer, "we will have _them all_."

*I don't consider myself familiar enough with Russian accents to try and write out Madame Rouge's phonetically, but if you've seen the show, you know what she sounds like.


	7. Chapter 6: The Master's Command

**Chapter 6: The Master's Command**

"What is happening to me?"

Starfire was staring at her hand in horror as her flesh continued to… unravel, was the best word Raven could think of for it… away, revealing a hand of glowing green energy beneath. She held it up and her eyes grew wide as the process continued up her arm, finally stopping just below her elbow. The Tamaranean seemed to be in a state of shock, and Raven really couldn't blame her for that.

"You think that guy in black's curse is what's doing this?" Robin asked, looking and sounding at once angry and afraid. "Why? What's he trying to gain from this? If he just wanted us out of the picture, he could have done that without doing… this to Star!"

"I don't think he wants us dead," Raven said. "You're right- if he's powerful enough to do something like this, he's powerful enough to kill us all if he wants to. This is some kind of transformation, but I'm not sure I understand exactly what's going on." She turned to face Starfire. "Can I have a look at that hand?"

"Yes," Starfire said quietly, nodding. Raven glided over and reached out one of her own hands- the other girl's new "flesh" was blisteringly hot to the touch and she pulled back, fingers singed. Deciding that approach clearly wasn't going to work, Raven held up her hand in front of Starfire's face and began to chant quietly, focusing her energies through her palm and into her friend's body.

Raven was blasted back with the force of a shot from a small cannon; righting herself in midair, she decided she really should have seen that one coming. Still, now that the curse had started to take effect, she thought she was starting to get a better handle on what exactly it did. "He infected you with some kind of demonic life-energy," Raven said. "It's eating its way into your soul and both amplifying and corrupting your powers. That's what's happening, Starfire- you're basically being turned into a living starbolt."

"And this is happening to all the rest of us, too?" Beast Boy asked, shuddering.

"Probably," Raven said. "Starfire's probably the most powerful on her own out of the four of you, so that's why it's affecting her first, but before long it will start working on the rest of you too." Mentally, she revised her opinion of the sorcerer's skills- "good" didn't quite cover it. She couldn't imagine putting together a spell like that so quickly, much less affecting four people with it. Whatever this guy wanted, he wanted it _bad_.

"So we're all going to turn into demons now, or something like that?" Cyborg said, rubbing his head. "Man, that's so unfair."

"Not exactly demons, but not good either," Raven told him. "But remember, you're not in your real bodies right now, just spirit versions that exist in this world. If we can get back to our own dimension, the effect shouldn't carry over." _Probably_, she added silently, but something said that uncertainty wasn't what the other Titans wanted to hear right now. Cyborg looked like he was running a diagnostic on himself, Beast Boy was pinching and prodding at his body with a worried look on his face, and Starfire was still staring at her corrupted hand while Robin tried to reassure her. Right now, the team was in trouble, and Raven knew that she was their best hope to get them out.

_Great_, she thought darkly. _The Titans are stuck in Hell, and the person best suited to take charge is the team loner. Yeah, this is going to end well. _

Mercifully, the uncomfortable situation was broken by Robin stepping forward. "You heard Raven," he said simply. "Our best hope of fixing this is getting ourselves out of here, so we need to keep moving."

"You're the boss," Cyborg said, and he and the rest of the team fell into step behind Robin as he continued in the direction they'd been heading, towards what they hoped was their attacker and their best chance of salvation. Raven took up the rear, shivering and wrapping her cloak more tightly around herself as she stared around them at the blasted landscaped, unable to escape the nagging feeling that there was something very important she wasn't seeing.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Veneficus was in his study, perusing an ancient scroll of magic that was both powerful and dark, when He came.

He did not come in the flesh, as He hadn't ever since the disaster of Earth-His physical form had barely survived that ordeal, and He'd hidden it away in some remote portion of this dimension while it recuperated, a process that might take millennia. But His spirit still went about, observing all the doings of His minions and carrying almost the full weight of His power, and only a fool would believe that even now He was not still in control.

Veneficus could feel the presence enter the study, as if something had entered that was too vast for the small, hellfire-lit room to contain; the sheer weight of it drove him to his knees, and he bowed his head before the power that had shaped and dominated his life. At other times he might think rebellious thoughts or spin schemes that were hidden from his master, but when he was in the presence of the spirit of Trigon the Terrible, he was loyal. It was impossible not to be, for a demon.

"Master," the demon lord choked out. "What is you will?"

VENEFICUS, the Voice said, silent and yet so huge that it seemed Veneficus's mind could not contain it. I HAVE NEED OF YOUR SKILL AND POWER.

"I am at your service, dread lord," he replied. "Speak, and I shall do it."

INDEED, Trigon said, sounding amused, if such a thing were possible. THERE ARE TRESPASSERS IN MY DOMAIN, VENEFICUS. I CAN FEEL THEM CRAWLING ACROSS IT LIKE THE INSECTS THAT THEY ARE, AND YET THEY ARE SHIELDED FROM ME. A POWER HANGS PROTECTIVELY ABOUT THEM, AND I SMELL THE TAINT OF… AZAR.

"Azar?" Veneficus asked, sudden fear striking through what, had he been human, he would have called his soul. Did the Master know what he had done? Surely not, or else Veneficus would not still be breathing. Trigon saw all, but when his gaze turned inward, as it had now, it was possible for many things to slip past him. "How is such a thing possible? Azar is dead, and her power could come hear no more easily than yours could enter her domain while she lived."

AZAR DOES NOT COME, BUT HER LAST DISCIPLE HAS- SHE WHOM I WILL NO LONGER CLAIM AS MY DAUGHTER, SHE WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR MY SHAME. RAVEN IS HERE, THE MORTAL RAG-TAG WHO HANG ABOUT HER WITH HER. I WILL NOT BEAR THIS INSULT, BUT I WILL BE AVENGED!

"How so, master?" Veneficus asked. He could almost feel four blazing eyes on him now, though in truth he knew those eyes were far away.

I CANNOT REACH THEM WHILE I AM WEAK, BUT YOU CAN. YOU WILL SEND FORTH YOUR MINIONS, YOUR SPELLS, AND YOU WILL FIND THEM AND BRING THEM BEFORE ME. THEN THE MORTALS WILL PERISH, AND I SHALL TURN MY ATTENTIONS TO MY RENEGADE DAUGHTER, AND BEFORE I AM THROUGH HER SCREAMS SHALL RESOUND FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS! As Trigon spoke his voice seemed to swell further, until it seemed as though the world itself would crack open, revealing the gateway to yet stranger and darker places.

"I hear and obey!" Veneficus shouted to his lord. "I shall not fail you!"

YOU HAD BEST NOT, OR YOU WILL SHARE HER FATE. The Voice fell silent, and the presence of Trigon's mind withdrew. Veneficus fell face-forward onto the study's carpet, which he'd made from a rival's hide, and lay in a stupor for several minutes.

So, he thought, Trigon knew he had uninvited guests, but didn't know who had brought them to this dimension. That was good, for now, because if he knew that Veneficus had been responsible, or what he planned, the demon sorcerer would have been destroyed out of hand. His only option now was to follow Trigon's orders- he'd intended to wait a while and allow his curse to take effect before recapturing the Teen Titans, but now everything had to be sped up. He needed to act fast and be gone from this dimension with his prize before Trigon realized he'd been cheated.

Veneficus stood slowly, carefully rearranged his robes- it wouldn't do for the servants to see him in such condition- and then spoke a single name. A hulking demon materialized in front of him and bowed. "You see these?" Veneficus asked, forming an image of the Titans in one hand. "They are out there, in the burning wastes. Gather your pack and find them, and bring them to me. Alive," he added as an afterthought, and could almost taste his minion's disappointment. Still, the big demon nodded once, saluted with a fist against one shoulder, and then vanished in a burst of flames, gone to the hunt.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Time seemed to blur for Raven as the Titans walked slowly through the barren lands. The light towards which the sorcerer had fled grew no closer, and little in the landscape around them changed- they hadn't even seen any more monsters or demons since the wolf attack. Hell, it was becoming clear, might be many things, but an interesting and varied dimension it wasn't. Still, if they'd actually made it to one of the inhabited regions, things would probably be far worse. Considering they were likely headed towards one such region now, that was small comfort.

The only way to tell time was by the small transformations beginning to occur in the other Titans. Starfire's condition had resumed spreading up her arm, more slowly this time, while the fingers of her other hand were also starting to glow green. Beast Boy's flesh was occasionally writhing, and at one point an eye popped onto the back of his neck before vanishing again. Cyborg's armor was fading from bright white to dull grey, had sprouted a few spikes, and was starting to expand over the organic parts of his arms. They seemed determined to ignore the changes to the best of their abilities; the fact that Beast Boy gave a kind of frightened little moan every time he sprouted an extra finger or had some other loss of control over his shapeshifting showed that this was not entirely successful. Only Robin seemed unaffected.

A sudden roaring sound came from above, and Raven glanced up to see a small swarm of meteors, larger than the ones they'd seen before, come streaking towards them. Robin saw them too. "Down!" he shouted, and the team fell to their knees as the fireballs passed over their heads and crashed directly in front of them.

Raven looked up and saw something stirring from within the craters. Something was rising from the nearest one- a huge, pale demon with bulging muscles so huge they made Mammoth look downright petite, its face concealed by an iron mask and a huge, double-bladed sword in its hands. More demons of similar type were rising from the craters behind, each carrying a decidedly lethal-looking oversized weapon. Fanning out, they advanced towards the team.

Beast Boy looked towards Robin. "All right," he said, "is it okay to panic now?"

Robin watched the demons with wide eyes, and then looked back to his cursed friends. "Yes," he said in a slightly strangled voice, "I think this is the time to panic."


	8. Chapter 7: Bonds of Darkness

**Chapter 7: Bonds of Darkness**

The first of the giant demons roared and charged towards Robin, raising his blade to strike; the Titans could see the flickering flames that ran along its edge. The team leader stood his ground until the last possible second and then darted aside, allowing the blow to land harmlessly against the ground (harmless to him, at least- the stone was broken by the force of the swing and now bore another smoldering scar). Growling in frustration, the demon wrenched his weapon free and spun around, but this time Robin was ready for him, meeting the strike with his fully-extended staff. The weapon's metal smoked as it met the hellforged sword, but otherwise showed no signs of damage. The demon pulled back, glaring in frustration.

"Who are you?" Robin demanded angrily. "What do you want with us?"

"My Master commands me, and I must obey," the creature rumbled. "It is he who desires you, maggot, not I."

"Who is your Master?" Robin asked. "Is it Trigon, that sorcerer who cursed us, or someone else?"

"You will meet him soon enough," the demon growled, and it gestured for its companions. They had paused to watch the fight between Robin and their leader, but now they began to advance towards the Titans once more. Raven felt a sinking feeling as she counted them, and realized that they had the team outnumbered- and Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were in no fit condition to fight. This looked like it was going to get _real_ ugly.

Breathing deeply, Raven buried her dark thoughts beneath a thick layer of absolute detached determination and leveled one hand towards the closest creature. Dark tendrils snaked around the giant axe it wielded and jerked it from its grasp; before it could react, Raven fired a blast of raw energy from her other hand, which struck the demon head-on and slammed it backwards. It couldn't, she thought, possibly be this easy, and her suspicions were confirmed as the demon planted its feet and halted its movement no matter how much more pressure she put on it. Then it raised its own hands and met her dark energy with a wave of raw elemental fire. Raven focused all her will on projecting as much energy as possible, but what the demon lacked in subtlety and skill it more than made up for in raw destructive power. Try as she might, she couldn't keep the fire from slowly forcing her own magic back.

Nearby, Beast Boy lowered his head and charged at a demon carrying an enormous mace, transforming as he did so into an immense green bull. The demon merely laughed and, tossing his weapon behind, seized Beast Boy by his horns. With tremendous strength it lifted him into the air and flung him aside. There was a terrible breaking sound as he hit the stony, blackened ground, but before the demon could examine its apparent kill, the broken body seemed to liquefy and reformed into Beast Boy in his true form, unharmed and staring at his hands in amazement.

"Whoa," he breathed. "I've never been able to do that before. Maybe I should get cursed by evil wizards more often." Looking up, he barely had time to dark aside as the demon, which had grabbed its mace again, took a heavy swing at him; shifting to the form of a hawk, he shot up into the air and came swooping down, tearing at the steel mask that covered its head. The creature swung about in a blind rage, trying to seize and crush him, but he flew up into the sky once more and shifted again. The demon's face wasn't visible, but Beast Boy later maintained that its expression must have been incredibly comical as it registered the mammoth falling towards it mere moments before it was crushed.

Starfire and Cyborg, as the two most physically powerful of the team, stood side-by-side; Cyborg's sonic cannon was deployed, but now fired bursts of red light instead of compressed sound, which did if anything more damage. Occasionally, one of the demons might still come close enough to land a blow, but when it did his armor simply absorbed the energy and grew so that it was thicker, encompassed more of his body, and sprouted more spikes. At his side Starfire was forcing the demons back with blasts of raw energy that were less bolts than streams- little of her true form remained visible, and she seemed almost made from brilliant green light.

"I do not understand this," she said as one of the demons fell back before her blasts. "Why would our enemy curse us only to make us stronger?"

"I don't know, Star," Cyborg said, glancing up at the sky, "but I don't like it one bit."

# # # # # # # # # # # #

In his sanctum, Veneficus smiled as he watched the battle through his scrying bowl. "An astute observation, my mechanical friend," he said softly. "Time to even the scales." Raising his hands above the bowl's liquid, he began to chant.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

The blast of fire slammed into Raven and knocked her back into a pile of hot, black stones. Groaning, she pulled herself to her feet and rubbed her head. The demon she was fighting loomed above her, and it had been joined by a second, but beyond them… her eyes widened. No!

Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire had collapsed, screaming and writing with pain as bolts of red-black lightning coursed over their bodies. It was the sorcerer's doing, it had to be, working through the connection his curse had forged, but this was magic darker and more powerful than anything Raven had ever worked with. How in Azar's name was she supposed to save her friends from this when she barely understood it herself?

Robin still dueled the demon leader, but when he heard the other Titans scream he spun to face the sound, fear and anger written across his face- and was that a flash of red in his eyes? It was too fast for Raven to be sure. Before he could react, however, the demon struck him over the backside of his head and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Then it's up to me," Raven growled, and she pulled dark energy around her hands, preparing to unleash a devastating attack- but even as the power built, she could feel something grab ahold of it and force it to dissipate before she could put it to use. For a moment her eyes widened in shock, and then she realized what- or rather, who- must be doing this. Then the closer demon struck out with its immense fist, and she knew no more.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Raven awoke slowly and painfully. She was laying on a cold floor of black marble, and as she looked up she was able to take in more of her surroundings- a wide hall supported by columns and lit by torches, all crafted from the same dark stone. The columns were carved with strange designs, but Raven guessed where she was well enough to know she didn't want to see them in detail. Her friends were nowhere in sight.

"So you're awake," a calm voice said from behind her. "Good. I'd feared that fool had permanently damaged you."

She turned slowly to face the speaker, dread and anger filling her. He sat in a high-backed throne against the wall, carved with lines and edges that were absolute straight and somehow merciless. He was swathed as he had been before in black robes, his only visible feature the red gleam of his eyes. His dark staff leaned against the side of the chair, and Raven could almost feel the dark power pulsing from both artifact and master.

"You,' she breathed at the sorcerer. "Who are you? Why are you doing this to us? And _where are my friends?_"

He held up a hand calmingly. "Relax, Raven. Your friends are safe, I assure you, and assuming you prove well-mannered and cooperative they will remain that way. I am called Veneficus, and I merely wish to speak to you." Reaching up with one clawed hand, he pulled his hood back, and Raven beheld his features for the first time- while his horns were small, his white hair pulled back into a neat tail, and his features youthful, in all other respects he bore a resemblance to Trigon that was disturbing. Raven took a wary step back.

"How do you know me?" she asked.

Veneficus smiled and shook his head. "A foolish question. I've been watching you for some time, Raven- all your life, really. You see, I knew from the beginning that you might be of use to me, and recent events have confirmed it." He waved his hand and images appeared in the air- Raven saw herself battling with Dr. Light, dueling the demonically-powered Slade, sealing the treacherous dragon Malchior back within his enchanted book and, finally, ablaze in brilliant white light, defeating Trigon's physical form and banishing his spirit back to the hell from which he came. Veneficus's gaze lingered on the last image. "Magnificent," he breathed.

"Look," Raven finally said, "I don't have time to take a trip down memory lane with you. I'm going to free my friends, and if you don't tell me where they are, I'm going to go find them- and I think you know I could tear your fancy palace apart looking for them."

"Merely finding them would do no good," Veneficus said, and the images vanished. "That was a powerful curse I used on them- it infused them with the essence of this dimension, enhancing their powers, but for a price. If left unchecked, their mortal souls will be consumed utterly, and they will exists only as shells that can be commanded by any powerful being of this realm- such as, for example myself. Or Trigon." He paused, allowing that the chance to sink in.

Raven's eyes burned white and she levitated off the floor until she was facing Veneficus eye to eye. "Tell me how to stop it," she said, her voice soft, but intense.

"I'll do better- I'll stop it myself, if you'll only do a favor for me in return." He leaned forward. "I need you Raven. You're the only being in all the cosmos who can deliver to me what I seek above all else. That's why I called you here, and why I cursed your friends to give you a reason to aid me that you could not refuse. And I know that you will not. I have seen inside your very soul."

"You know nothing about me," Raven said.

Veneficus laughed. "Really, Raven? The same darkness spawned us both; we are connected far more tightly to one another than even your friends are to you. I know the thing you fear the most is the darkness of your own soul, and you cannot stand by and allow them to be consumed by theirs."

"Just because you're the same sort of being as my father doesn't qualify us as being connected, in my opinion," Raven said. "I want nothing to do with that side of my heritage."

"Oh, but we're much closer than that, dear child." He smiled, and something in that smile was more terrible than his anger would have been. "For when I said the same darkness spawned us, I wasn't just speaking in metaphor. You see, Raven, Trigon is my father, even as he is yours. I am your brother." He gestured and a second, shorter chair appeared facing his own. "Now then, little sister, have a seat. We have much to talk about, you and I."


	9. Chapter 8: Security Breach

**Chapter 8: Security Breach**

Bumblebee slid into a chair as the huge double-doors of Titans' Tower slammed shut behind her, resting her forehead on one of her hands and doing her best not to fall asleep then and there. The city had been secured, for the most part, but it was now almost midnight and the Titans East had only just finished bundling off the last of the supervillains, villain-wannabes, and ordinary criminals they'd captured into the city prison facility. She could only hope that tomorrow would be at least marginally saner.

Unfortunately, the Jump City Titans' condition hadn't changed at all. Bumblebee had given the police the access codes to bring them over to the Tower's sickbay, thinking that maybe the familiar surroundings might help them snap out of whatever had happened to them (and then she'd reset the codes, just to be on the safe side), but to no avail. They still lay there, eerily still, showing no signs of awakening. Villains, criminals, and monsters Bumblebee could deal with, but this was something different, and though she hated to admit it, it scared her.

Pulling herself to her feet, she set her wings buzzing and flew upwards (taking stairs did _not_ appeal to her right now) shrinking so she could fit through the air ducts and making her way to the sickbay. The Titans were laid out on individual beds, staring at nothing, while Aqualad checked their lifesigns and Speedy watched a security monitor.

"Where are Mas and Menos?" Bumblebee asked as she slipped out of a vent and resumed normal size.

"Asleep," Speedy said without looking up. "Which is where I'm going to be after I finish with this. Cyborg's put in some new upgrades since we were here last- force-field and everything. Ought to keep just about anything that wants to get in out."

"That's a relief. At least something's working out today." She glanced over at Aqualad. "Any change at all?"

The Atlantean shook his head. "Nothing that I can tell. Some of my people do magic, but I'm not one of them- I'm pretty sure this is some sort of curse, but I couldn't tell you how it was done or how to fix it." He looked up at Bumblebee and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," she told him. "I think we all need to get some sleep, or we won't be any good to anyone. See you in the morning." She turned to leave the sickbay, then glanced back at the Titans' beds. "Wake up, Sparky," she muttered to Cyborg under her breath, though of course he gave no sign of having heard. "We need you guys."

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Madame Rouge watched Titans' Tower across the bay from one of the city's beaches and allowed a satisfied smile to creep across her face. The Titans were all bottled up together, and the only able ones among them were exhausted and weak. Her employer had given her the go-ahead- it was time to rid the world of them once and for all.

She reached into one of her coat's pockets and withdrew a small device that resembled a remote- one of the Brain's lesser inventions, into which she'd plugged in the security codes from the Tower she'd acquired in her policewoman disguise earlier in the day. Pressing a button, she transmitted a signal out to the Tower that would disable the security systems and allow her free access to the Titans within. Rouge waited several moments and then glanced down at the device's small screen, snarling in frustration when she saw the error message flashing there. They must have changed the codes already, and while the device was designed to hack them, she knew better than to pit its limited abilities against security systems that had initially been the best money could buy and then further upgraded by Cyborg. Alternate methods would be required.

Rouge tossed the device aside and slipped off her coat, then allowed her body to flow and mold itself like putty. In an instant she had contracted into the shape of a small bird, and then she leaped into the air and sped across the bay.

Her new form's keen eyes made out the faint shimmer of energy that formed the Tower's forcefield, and she darted at it, only to be repulsed by a burst of shocking energy. She worked her way around the field, repeating the process, until finally she simply landed on the edge of the island and resumed her natural shape. The forcefield was flawless, or at least, it had no flaws that were large enough to grant her access.

But Madame Rouge was considered one of the greatest criminals of her time for valid reason- she did not give up lightly, and though not truly a leader of others, she had a devious mind for executing missions alone. Slowly, the pieces of a plan came to her, and she allowed herself another smile at the thought of how the Teen Titans would be taken.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Bumblebee felt like she'd barely fallen asleep when she was awakened by the loud blaring of one of the proximity alarms. Muttering angrily under her breath, she leaped to her feet and grabbed her stingers from where she'd left them beside her bed and darted out of the spare bedroom and in to the hallway.

Speedy was already there- his bow was out and he was glancing around nervously. A moment later, a door further down the hall opened up, and Menos stumbled out, followed closely by Mas. "¿Cual es ese?" one of the twins asked- Bumblebee couldn't tell which.

"An alarm," she said tiredly, "I'm pretty sure it's the one that means there's someone outside trying to break through the forcefield. We'd better go check it out." The other Titans East, joined by Aqualad, followed their leader down the halls until they came to the living room, where Bumblebee pulled up camera footage from outside on the viewscreen. At first it was blurry, but then it came into focus and Bumblebee felt her eyes widen, all trace of exhaustion vanishing.

Robin was stumbling along the beach, his uniform shredded and body covered in fresh injuries. He seemed to be barely able to stand, but still he pounded on the field, trying desperately to get inside.

"That's not possible," Aqualad breathed. "Robin's still in the sickbay- how can he be out there at the same time?"

"What I want to know is, who beat him up?" Speedy asked. "I've fought with Robin _and_ against him, and he's almost as good as I am- whoever did that to him, it wasn't just some punk off the street. It was someone serious."

"He's saying something," Bumblebee said, watching the video intently. "Be quiet and let me pull up audio." She punched several more keys in succession, and then suddenly Robin's voice, weak and desperate, filled the room.

"-East, if you're there, you have to listen! You've been tricked- Mumbo was working with somebody else, and he provided a distraction so that they could abduct the team and replace us with some sort of duplicate. These people are serious- they had weapons like I'd never seen before, and the others still need help. I repeat, Titans East-" His voice cut off as Bumblebee hit mute.

"It could be a trap," Speedy said.

"Yeah," Bumblebee said, "but if that is really Robin down here, and the one we've got is some brainless clone, then he needs our help- he doesn't look far away from dropping right there. Let's go check him out- if it's a trick, I think the five of us can handle one lookalike."

She hurried down to the lower levels, followed closely by the rest of her team. Reaching bottom, she pressed a hand to the control panel to deactivate the security system, and then pushed a button to allow the doors to slide open. The Titans East hurried outside to where maybe-Robin stood, now standing with his hands on his knees and panting heavily.

"All right, Robin, we're here," Bumblebee said. "Now what's going on?"

"We need to get inside," Robin gasped. "I think they're coming- you don't know what they're like…"

"Wait a minute," Speedy said, holding up a hand. "We've got one just like you upstairs in the sickbay, so first off, we need to make sure it's you. How'd we meet?"

"The Master of Games abducted us and made us fight in some tournament, but it was all a trick to steal our powers," Robin said. "Happy?"

"All right," Speedy said, frowning. "That'll do for right now." He grabbed one of Robin's arms and slung it over his shoulders, and Aqualad took the other. Together they walked him into the Tower's entrance hall and sat him down in one of the chairs. He lay there, breathing heavily and clutching his sides for several minutes, until Bumblebee finally stepped forward and looked him in the eye.

"All right, Robin," she said, "you said the bad guys were after you. Think you could tell us anything else about them?"

"Yes," Robin said- his voice sounded strange, and much stronger. Then he sat up slowly, and his whole body began to twist and mold itself into a tall woman in a combat jumpsuit, who regarded the Titans East with cold disdain. "They're already here," she finished in a thick Russian accent.

"Madame Rouge," Bumblebee breathed, and she barely had time to bring her stingers up in defensive position before the shapeshifting assassin struck.


	10. Chapter 9: In the Citadel

**Chapter 9: In the Citadel**

"You're lying," Raven said after a silence that felt far longer than it actually must have been. "I don't have any brothers or sisters. That's why Trigon needed me so badly."

Veneficus shrugged. "Perhaps I misspoke. I am only your _half_-brother- the human Arella was no part of me. My mother was a demon of middle rank. But I do _not_ lie when I tell you this, Raven- Trigon was your father, and mine."

Raven felt a cold chill that had nothing to do with the temperature, but she quickly quenched it. Maybe Veneficus was lying, and maybe he wasn't- you could never tell, with demons- but if she could figure out what he wanted from her, it might be the first step in getting her friends and herself out of this mess. "All right then, _brother_," she said slowly, "assuming you're telling the truth, what do you need me for?"

Veneficus smiled. "Now we're getting somewhere," he said. "I was little more than an experiment of Trigon's, one that failed. I was more powerful than many demons, true, but I could not grant him the thing he desired above all else- freedom to conquer universes beyond this one. He didn't destroy me, but neither did he acknowledge me as his son- he kept me on only as a pet, of sorts, while he turned his attention elsewhere. But I grew strong enough to become a lord in my own right, and then he took me as one of his lieutenants, but kept a close watch on me, as he did on all his lords, to make certain we did not betray him. And so even as he hungered more and more to walk free of this place, so did I come to desire to be free of him, and my own master.

"Of course, that was impossible- until you, Raven. The child of two worlds, who unleashed Trigon upon earth and then turned him back, undoing his work in the process. I knew you could give me what I wanted, and so I arranged for you to come here, now, to listen to me." He leaned close; his features seemed to fill with a feral desire. "You have the power to break open a portal between dimensions powerful enough for a demon lord to pass through completely, not just in spirit, or for a brief time. Do it! Bring me into your world, I beg of you!"

Raven took a step back, mind reeling. She wasn't about to give this creature access to Earth, not matter how politely he talked. This was the demon who had dragged the Titans here and cursed them, and he was a being of raw power and dark magic. She didn't know what he'd do if he materialized in the middle of Jump City, but she doubted it would be pretty. "No," was all she said, in a tone that left no room for argument.

"No?" Veneficus asked, and then he laughed, high and cold, a sound that was utterly devoid of humanity or mirth. "I think you forget who you're talking to, little sister." He glided down from his throne and held one hand palm up in front of Raven's face; mist swirled into it and formed into the images of her friends. "I hold their lives in my hand, Raven. I can give them back, if you only do this one small favor for me. Or you could walk away, leave them to rot. I won't stop you." He smiled again, baring his fangs visibly this time. "But of course, you'll then live the rest of your life knowing that, when push came to shove, you were more like your father than you'd ever care to admit. It's your choice."

Raven swayed slightly, trying to seem weak and overcome. "Just give me some time to think," she said, "somewhere quiet and alone. You don't happen to have a library around here, do you?"

"I do," Veneficus said. "You can have time. I know you'll see it my way in the end."

_Unless I find something in one of your books that will tell me how to fix what you did to my friends_, Raven thought darkly. _Then we'll see who's really winning._

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Starfire launched a blast of energy- too large and powerful to properly be called a starbolt anymore- at the barred door of the prison cell that held the four cursed Titans. The energy blasted off the bars and ricocheted around the cell, causing the Titans to duck, before it dissipated. Starfire, who now resembled a brilliant green light shaped roughly like a Tamaranean princess, sank slowly to the floor in defeat. "It is not working," she said, her voice now echoing slightly. "That is the fifth time I have hit it, but the door does not move."

"Don't get down on yourself, Star," Robin said; he reached over to pat her shoulder, but the scorching heat of her forced him to pull his hand back, which caused the Tamaranean to look even more downcast. "Whoever's behind this, they've got us good, but it's not your fault. We just need to get out of here, and then we'll get them." He clenched his fist, and tried to ignore the power that surged through it- and the surge of anger that accompanied it.

"Hey, guys!" Beast Boy called. "Could use a little help. I'm melting over here!" Robin turned to face him, and saw that while the shapeshifter was exaggerating, it wasn't by much. Beast Boy's body was running like wax, and then suddenly reformed itself into the shape of a green lion, which held briefly before it started to run as well, forcing him to change into yet another animal- a gorilla, this time, who snorted irritably.

"His shapeshifting's gotten stronger," Cyborg said, his voice echoing metallically from within the armor that now almost covered him. "But he can't control it as well as he used to. That's why he can't hold one form for very long- at least, that's my take."

"Well, how do I stop it?" Beast Boy demanded, human again. "I mean, getting to turn into anything I want might be kind of cool, but I want to be able to stay me long enough to eat, and play the GameStation!" He lowered his voice. "Going to the bathroom's not bad either."

"I can't help you there, BB," said Cyborg. "This is Raven's area, not mine."

"Where is Raven?" Starfire asked. "Why was she not put in here with us? You do not think she is…" she didn't finish the thought.

"No," Robin said firmly. "She's alive. She was the only one of us who wasn't hit by that curse. I think she's the one that guy in black really wants. The rest of us, we're just leverage- or bait."

"I hate being bait," Beast Boy muttered.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Cyborg asked.

Robin stood and paced to the bars, glancing through them at the two demon guards who sat outside, eating _something_ (he didn't particularly want to guess what it was). "We stick to the plan," Robin finally said. "No prison's foolproof, and if Dr. Light can break out of one, so can we. We find a way out of this, we save Raven, and then we settle with the sorcerer."

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Veneficus's library, Raven had quickly determined, was rather too dark and creepy even for her tastes. Perhaps it was the fact that everything was completely wrapped in heavy shadow except for where it was illuminated by dull red torches at the ends of the aisles, or that the most powerful spellbooks were bitterly cold to the touch and seemed to be whispering to each other in a language she didn't understand, or that several of them seemed to be covered with demon (or even human) skin. "Gloom, I don't mind," she muttered under her breath. "Gloom that's talking to itself about killing me and turning my skin into a book is a different story."

Still, Raven had managed to find something that might very well hold the answers- a huge black-bound book that had been hastily put away and didn't have even a thin film of dust on it. If this was Veneficus's most recent piece of reading material, as it looked to be, then it seemed very likely that the curse he'd put on her friends was in its pages.

Raven seated herself against the end of one of the shelves, opened the book in her lap, and conjured a small ball of glowing energy in the air above her, not trusting the demon-lamps. Quickly she began to flip through the pages- she'd been right, it was a spellbook, and a very powerful one. Most of the spells were cruel either in purpose or what components they required, and she skimmed over them, but a few she lingered on, thinking they might come in handy before this was done. Finally, in the back of the book, she found what she was looking for.

"_The Cursa Demoneus,_" she read quietly to herself, "_allows the caster to cause the target's darker nature to increase dramatically in power, changing them into demonlike beings after approximately a day if cast properly. Once the effects have reached the final stage, the spell is irreversible save by the intervention of a godlike being; however, before it reaches this point it may be undone by less powerful effects, including powerful blessings and transporting the victim through a powerful portal, which would strip the spell away."_ Afterwards followed a description of how the spell was to be cast, but Raven ignored it, slamming the book shut.

"Clever demon, Veneficus," she said quietly to herself. "Not likely to get a blessing from anything down here- which means the only way to help my friends is to play right into his hands." She stood quickly, tucking the book under one arm. "I bet he wanted me to find this. But I'm not giving up yet. I need to find the others and get us out of here before he can make me create a portal for him." Quickly Raven leaped into the air and glided from the library, still clutching the book and reaching out with her will, trying to find the place where the Titans were imprisoned before it was too late.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Veneficus waved his hand, clearing the image of Raven from his scrying bowl. He'd read his sister well, he thought to himself with pride. Raven would rush to the aid of the Titans, to get them out of this dimension before the spell took permanent hold, but when she reached them, he'd be there already.

"And then," Trigon's son said quietly to himself, "the fun will _really_ begin…"


	11. Chapter 10: Darkness Rising

**Chapter 10: Darkness Rising**

Bumblebee darted aside as one of Madame Rouge's arms shot at her, elongating horribly as its hand reshaped itself into a knife-sharp point. The attack missed by inches, and the leader of the Titans East leapt into the air, firing both of her stingers at her enemy at full power. Rouge stumbled back, raising her hands to shield her eyes but otherwise unharmed. That was one of the problems with fighting this particular criminal, Bumblebee remembered- she was insanely hard to injure.

"Speedy!" she shouted, landing on the back of one of the couches and keeping up her electrical barrage, "I've heard she doesn't like fire. Got anything that could help?"

"I think so," Speedy said with a slight grin; pulling an arrow from his quiver, he nocked and fired it in a single smooth motion, and when it struck Rouge the head exploded into a shower of smoke and sparks.

"Did you get her?" Mas asked, speaking the words carefully enough that Bumblebee was able to make them out easily despite his accent. She turned and squinted in the direction of the smoke, and as it thinned she made out a puddle of some thick red liquid that lay on the floor where Madame Rouge had been standing.

"I think I did," Speedy breathed, sounding rather shocked- he was cocky, but even he seemed to think that had been too easy. Then the liquid began to churn and suddenly shot up to human height, reforming itself into Rouge, who glared at the Titans East with an expression that promised murder.

"That _stung_," she hissed, and then sprang into action. One hand shot towards speedy, elongating as it went until it was almost as large as he was and its fingers were clawed. He fired two more exploding arrows in quick succession; this time, however, Rouge was ready for his attack and flicked them away with her fingers before they did any damage. While she was distracted, however, Aqualad hit her with a blast of water he'd drawn from one of the Tower's pipes; it burst from the wall and slammed into her, knocking her flat. In an instant, though, she'd reformed into something that Bumblebee couldn't make out, but was dagger-sharp and knifed easily through the water until she'd moved out of Aqualad's line of fire.

"Too slow," Rouge taunted, and then one of her arms lashed out like a whip, slamming into Aqualad and knocking him into Speedy, so that both boys fell together in a heap. Bumblebee winced- this was _not_ going well at all. The Titans East could likely have held their ground had they been in top shape, but having just been awakened after too short a sleep after an exhausting day, their prospects weren't looking good.

As Rouge advanced on the fallen Titans, Bumblebee leapt from her perch and shrank to insect size, darting around Rouge and blasting her repeatedly in the face with her stingers. "Bet you can't catch me," she taunted, and the shapeshifter snarled as she attempted to grab the tiny, fast-flying heroine. Finally, she simply formed one hand into a wide, flat swatter and followed her opponent carefully with her eyes until she had a good idea where she was going. Then she struck, and Bumblebee felt pain shoot through her as the swatter slammed into her before it reshaped itself into a hand which dangled her in midair by her wings.

"Let me _go_!" she shouted, firing her stingers, but Madame Rouge simply shook her to make her aim go awry, and then laughed.

"Foolish child," she said. "I did not come here tonight to simply "let you go". By the time the sun rises, both the Teen Titans and the Titans East will be nothing more than memory."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Bumblebee spat.

"Ah, but you _don't_," Rouge said, smirking. Slowly, she raised one hand and elongated the pointer finger into a sharp spear. Pointing it directly at Bumblebee's chest, she pulled her had back to strike- but before she could, a white-and-red blur slammed into her legs, knocking them out from under her and sending her sprawling. Bumblebee darted away and resumed normal size while Rouge stumbled back to her feet, only to be sent sprawling again. The blur resolved itself into Mas and Menos, who stood a few feet away with their tongues both sticking out.

Rouge snarled and shot towards them, kicking out with one foot directly at where their hands touched. The twins were fast, but so was Madame Rouge when she had a clear target. Her blow knocked them apart before they could react, and she stood over them both, shaking her head. "Even Kid Flash was barely fast enough to keep up with me," she said. "What chance did you think you had?"

"How about _this_!" Bumblebee shouted, slamming into Rouge's back and hitting her directly with both stingers on the back of her head. There was a brilliant flash of light and the sound of crackling electricity, and the shapeshifter collapsed, smoke rising from her.

"Is she dead?" Aqualad asked as he and Speedy got slowly to their feet.

"Nope," Bumblebee said, gesturing- Rouge was already twitching feebly. "From what I heard from Robin and Kid Flash, I'm not sure anything _can_ kill her. She'll probably be back up again in a few minutes, good as new."

"So what do we do, throw her outside?" Speedy asked.

"And risk her waking up while we're holding on to her?" Bumblebee asked. "Don't think so. She's here for the Titans, too, not just us, and there might be others. We need to get up to the sickbay and make sure they're all right, and from there we can set the security system to full lockdown mode. That'll deal with her real quick. Now let's move!"

Bumblebee leaped into the air and flew up the stair, Mas and Menos a red and white blur beneath her while Speedy and Aqualad were running as fast as they could to keep up. Finally they reached the sickbay and slammed the door shut behind them, while Bumblebee hurried over to the controls. The Titans all seemed fine- or at least, as fine as anyone could be under the circumstances- so she spared them just a quick glance as she typed like mad on the console. After a few tense moments, she was rewarded with armor plates slamming shut on the windows and airvents, while the screen flashed a message saying that full lockdown mode was initiated and interior weapons were armed. Anyone who was in the building and wasn't in the computer's database as "Friend" or "Ally" was about to very quickly be ejected from the premises.

"Whoo," Bumblebee said, leaning back against the computer. "Glad that's over with."

"Yeah," said Speedy. "Me too. I feel like an _idiot_- I should have realized someone was shapeshifting as Robin when we've got the real deal up here, and Madame Rouge has impersonated him before."

"Well, who expects the world's top metahuman assassion to just show up in the middle of the night?" Aqualad asked. "She's based out of Europe- how were we supposed to know she was here?"

"The real question is, who's she working for?" Bumblebee said. "She's a follower, not a leader- someone ordered her here, and if I find out who it was…" she clenched one hand into a fist for emphasis, sending sparks shooting down the stinger she held.

"You would not survive the encounter!" An accented voice laughed. The Titans East spun towards the sound- and saw, to their horror, that it was coming from one of the vents. The cracks in the armor plating that now covered it were miniscule, but an all-too-familiar thick red liquid was seeping through them, dripping onto the floor below. When enough of it was through, it formed itself once again into Madame Rouge.

"Your pathetic security systems cannot stop me," she said. Slowly she began advancing, fingers elongating into claws. "All you have accomplished is to box yourself in with me in a tiny space where you have no room to maneuver, and my other targets are within my grasp." She glanced at the beds where the Titans lay and smiled horribly. "Now, it ends."

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Cyborg pulled on the bars with all his strength, which was even more considerable now with the curse's enhancement. In spite of that, the bars held without even budging, and the demon guards on the other side were watching, their expressionless faces somehow seeming tremendously amused. Finally Cyborg stopped pulling and turned to Robin.

"It's no use, man," he said. "We've tried Star's blasts, BB's shapeshifting, and my strength, and none of it's worked. Not to mention all my tech's been turned into things I'm not even sure I _want_ to know how it works." He raised one hand and extended a bony spur that might have at one point been his chainsaw. "

"We need to keep trying," Robin said. "We didn't beat Trigon, Slade, or the Brotherhood of Evil to end up trapped here for the rest of eternity. There's got to be a way out!"

"Yeah well, if there is, I haven't found it," Cyborg said.

"Wait- what is happening out there?" At the sound of Starfire's voice, the team turned towards the door again, only to see dark energy wrap itself around both guards and slam them into each other, so that they collapsed unconscious to the ground. Following quickly behind the attack came Raven, one hand raised to launch more magic if she needed, a heavy book clutched under the other arm. When she turned towards the cell and saw the Titans, an expression of mixed pity, fear, and anger crossed her features almost to quickly to be seen.

"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted. "Please tell me you're here to get us out of this!"

"Are you really Raven?" Robin asked, "or just an illusion that sorcerer cooked up to trick us into trying to leave?"

"I'm real, Robin," she replied. "But, I'd probably say that even if I was an illusion. You'll have to trust me." There was a pause, and finally Robin nodded. "Good. Now let me get you out of here." She knelt beside the lock and examined it for a moment, then flipped the book open and read through it until she found what she was looking for. Raising a hand, she pronounced a quick incantation and the door sprang open. The Titans rushed out into the hallway.

"Where'd you get that book?" Cyborg asked.

"Found it in our 'host's' library," Raven said. "Fortunately a lot of the spells he uses in this place are in here, including the lock. His name's Veneficus, and he's bad news- really bad." She looked like she was about to say more, but thought better of it.

"Please," Starfire said, "why did the Veneficus separate us from each other- what did he want from you?"

"He wants to get to Earth," Raven said. "He's sick of playing lapdog to Trigon ,and he wants out- but something tells me that if he got to Earth, he'd just try and take it over for himself." She glanced down at the book in her arms. "He needed me for the same reason Trigon did- because I can open a portal between worlds powerful enough for a demon lord to pass through."

"And this freaky curse?" Beast Boy asked, taking human form long enough to talk before shifting into a wolf to avoid melting.

"Leverage," Raven said. "If I don't fix it, you'll be stuck like this forever- and left open to his control. He knows I won't let that happen, but the only way to cure it is for your souls to pass back through a portal and join with your bodies before it becomes permanent." She growled softly and looked up at the ceiling as if she was seeing through it into the fortress above. "And of course, opening a portal is exactly what he wants me to do."

"So what are you going to do?" Robin asked.

Raven held up the book. "Use a spell in this to open a portal and send you back, then escape myself. Then you'll be cured, we'll all be home, and Veneficus will be stuck here with Trigon, who I doubt will be happy about nearly getting cheated by one of his minions."

"But when you opened a portal for Trigon, you _became_ it," Cyborg pointed out. "You would've died if Robin hadn't brought you back."

"That's why I'm using the book," Raven explained. "If I open the portal with a spell, and just use my own energy to power it, I should be able to make it powerful enough to get us home without burning myself up." She glanced around, then folded her legs and "sat" in midair, holding the book open on her lap. "Now, let's get this over with before Veneficus catches us." Raising a hand slowly, she began to chant in a weird, alien-sounding language. The air in front of them began to shimmer and twist, then collapsed in on itself until it formed a swirling tunnel through reality, smaller than but otherwise identical to the one Raven had become to allow Trigon passage.

"Go!" Raven said tightly. "I'll watch you- just get yourselves out of here!" The Titans nodded at her and ran at the portal- only to be knocked away from it by a blast of crimson lightning. "No!" Raven breathed, turning slowly towards the source of the blast, knowing and dreading what she'd see.

Veneficus stood in the corridor, hand raised and sparking with energy, hood pulled back so that his face was visible and his eyes could be seen gleaming. He smiled the smile of a satisfied predator. "Oh, well done," he said, looking from Raven to the portal. "Excellent work, little sister. Now be a good girl and step away from it. I have places to be, and a world to conquer!"


	12. Chapter 11: Fire and Light

**Chapter 11: Fire and Light**

Raven bristled, leveling a hand at Venficus. "Oh, I don't _think_ so," she hissed, and then sent a burst of dark energy spiraling directly into her half-brother's smiling face. Veneficus was rocked backwards and stumbled against the wall, catching himself with his staff before he fell; he raised his head to look at Raven and laughed.

"Sister!" he said in a tone of mock indignation. "Is that really the way to treat your older brother?" He stepped closer and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Come now. It's not much that I'm asking. Just step away from the portal and let me through- I won't do anything to stop you and your friends from following me. You could stand and fight, of course, but I'll win in the end- and what will you accomplish except to eat up valuable time? The clock is ticking, Raven." His eyes wandered to the Titans. "It won't be long now before they're mine."

"Sorry," Raven said coldly. "But I'm not letting any more demons into my world on my watch. Walk away now, and we'll leave, and you'll never see any of us again."

Venficus's smile remained in place, but his eyes hardened. "I see," he said. "It's unfortunate that you cling to Azar's teachings and your loyalty to these insects with all the stubbornness I'd expect from Father's bloodline. But you've made one mistake. The portal is already open, and will remain so for several more minutes. I don't _need_ you any more."

Before Raven had time to react, he'd leveled his staff at her and fired a blast of dark red energy from its tip. It slammed into her body and knocked her back into the wall, where she slid to the floor, rubbing her ringing head. She looked up to see Veneficus standing over her, eyes alight with malice and power.

"Good-bye, little sister," he said softly. "It's a pity it had to end this way."

"You _really_ shouldn't have done that," a voice said over Veneficus's shoulder. The demon sorcerer turned to face the speaker- and then went flying across the room as Robin's fist drew back and punched him cleanly in the face. "Guess you shouldn't have used a curse on us that enhanced our powers, eh?" he said, as he bent down and helped Raven back to her feet.

"A minor miscalculation," Veneficus spat, rising to his feet and leaning heavily on his staff. "But it will not save you. I am Veneficus, son of Trigon, and I _will not be denied! Ash aginath therath sinkari!"_ As he spoke crimson light flared in his eyes, on his hands, and on the tip of his staff; it gathered for an instant, then pulsed brightly and shot forward, binding together into a single powerful beam. It wasn't a spell Raven recognized, but neither was it something she wanted to see demonstrated.

"No!" she shouted, throwing herself between her friends and the spell and forming a shield of dark energy to block them. The red light slammed into the darkness and forced it back, but Raven through all of her will and determination into powering her magic- she hadn't passed through Trigon's domain just so she and her friends could die here…

Veneficu's spell shattered, the energy from it exploding like a small bomb and throwing the demon back. He landed in a heap and pulled himself into a sitting position to see all of the Titans standing over him, expressions dark.

"You know, you're not all that tough for an evil demon demigod sorcerer-thing," Beast Boy said. "Are you _sure_ you're a demon?"

Starfire bent down and picked Veneficus up by the collar of his robes, which smoldered where they made contact with her burning skin. "On my planet, one such as you would be made to pay for what you did," she said. "But as we are not on my planet, I will allow Raven to decide your fate, because you say she is your sister."

"Just leave him," Raven said. "He's not worth it."

"Not worth it, am I?" Veneficus asked; he was smiling again. "I think you'll find you're quite wrong on that- and I am not so defeated as you seem to think." His eyes suddenly flared brightly. "_Restrain her!"_ he commanded in a ringing, echoing voice.

At once Starfire's grip slackened, allowing Veneficus to slip free. The Titans' eyes had gone glassy, and they turned slowly and mechanically to face Raven, expressions eerily blank. "Yes, Master," the said in dull harmony, and then they lunged.

"Mind control!" Raven muttered, leaping into the air to dodge Cyborg as he charged at her. He slammed into the wall, but then pulled back and turned to face her again, apparently unharmed. Before Raven could react, she suddenly felt searing hot hands wrapping themselves around her wrists and pulling them behind her back- Starfire had taken her while she wasn't looking. Raven twisted as much as she could in midair and faced Veneficus.

"Release them, now," she hissed.

"I don't think I will," he said idly. "I might have earlier, if you'd simply let me pass- keeping my word in that case would have done me no harm- but now, you've made me _angry_." He smiled nastily, showing pointed teeth. "I'm not one to allow insult to slide unpunished. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be leaving." He turned towards the portal in a swirl of robes and began to walk towards it.

"No you _don't!" _With a blast of energy Raven burst free from Starfire's grasp and hurled herself bodily at Veneficus, slamming into him and forcing him away from the portal. The two children of Trigon fell together, rolling across the floor and clawing and kicking at each other, each trying to keep the other from concentrating enough to cast a spell. Finally, however, Veneficus managed to lay a hand on his staff; wrapping it tightly in his grip, he pronounced a single word in the language of demons and Raven was flung away from him by a powerful burst of force.

"Restrain her _carefully," _the demon sorcerer instructed the mind-controlled Titans. They approached their friend slowly, closing in around her and cutting off any possible means of escape.

"Robin," she said softly, "Starfire- listen to me, please! You're not yourselves- can't you see it? He's controlling you! He's using dark magic- you've got to fight it."

"Master commands," Robin said thickly. "We must obey."

"Yes," Veneficus hissed. "They are mine now, mind, body and soul. You can't save them- it's too late for you to even save yourself." He paused for a moment, thoughtful. "On second thought, don't restrain her. She's too much of a liability now. Kill her outright and be done with it."

"No!" Raven said. "My friends, please- think what you're about to do! You can fight this- I've had a darkness in me my whole life, but I was able to fight it and it couldn't control me. You can fight it too! I know you're in there- listen to me!"

The other Titans didn't speak. They simply advanced closer, their eyes burning red as they raised their weapons. Robin held a gleaming birdarang in each hand; what had been Cyborg's sonic cannon was out and glowing a dull red; Starfire's hands were blazing brightly' Beast Boy had shifted into the form of something huge with razor-sharp tentacles. If even one of those attacks hit, Raven doubted she'd survive it. But perhaps, there was a way…

She let herself go limp. "Go ahead," she said. "Do it. Kill me- give in to what he's trying to make of you. If his control over you is so strong he could make you kill a friend, there's nothing I can do about it. It's all over."

The Titans brought their weapons and attacks down, but before they struck home they stopped, seeming to struggle within themselves, as if some part of them was determined to strike, while another was just as determined not to. Raven lay there, not daring to breathe, determined to let this play out to its fullest, fearing to break the spell that seemed to have come over her friends. Finally the Titans fell back, blinking and shaking their heads- their eyes had returned to their normal color.

"Whew," Beast Boy said. "Glad that's over with. I think I need a shower after that- demon mind control, ick!"

"I _really_ don't like bad guys who use mind control," Cyborg said slowly, turning to face Veneficus. "You just made a big mistake."

"Very clever, Raven," Robin said, helping her to her feet. "When you wouldn't fight back, it meant that if we killed you, it would be all on us- and you knew we wouldn't do it."

"I hoped," she said. "A lot of the time, mind control snaps if you try to make the target do something totally against their true nature- I'm glad I was right this time." She turned to face Veneficus. "See- there are powers in this universe so much stronger than demon magic, it doesn't stand a chance. I've found out that friendship is one of them."

"Indeed," her brother said softly, fingering his staff. "I see that you are not going to give me peace while you live. I think it's time to remove you from the equation permanently." The staff dropped to the floor with a clatter and Veneficus drew himself up to his full height, eyes glittering. It seemed to Raven that she hadn't realized before just how tall he was. "I had hoped to avoid the degradation of physical combat, but it appears I now have no choice."

Veneficus clenched his fists and threw his head back, and then he _bulged_, growing up several feet in height while massive muscles rippled onto his arms. His robes shredded, revealing only a loincloth beneath, and his eyes blaze with infernal light. "I am Veneficus, son of Trigon and sorcerer of the black pits," the thundered. "Before me, no power can stand."

"Whoa," Beast Boy said. "Using that many steroids has _got_ to be illegal."

Robin pulled out his own staff and spun it in front of him. "We've taken out more powerful villains than you, and we'll do it again. Titans, GO!" The team lunged forward, but Veneficus merely laughed and belched forth a blast of dark fire; Raven put up a shield in time, but the force of the flames backed her up slowly, and she didn't think she could hold for long. In his new form, Veneficus was simply channeling too much raw power for her to deal with easily. At first she was driven slowly back, and then to her knees. _Mother Azar, give me strength_, Raven through desperately. _I just want to get my friends home safe…_

Within Raven, something snapped.

A wave of power shot through her, and it brought with it an aura of brilliant white light more powerful by far than the demon's flames. The fires were blasted aside and Raven stood slowly, wreathed in the light that shone the same color her cloak and leotard now were. "You forgot," White Raven said in a voice that echoed, "I'm Trigon's daughter, but I'm also Azar's student, and there's more powers than one available to me."

"Indeed," Veneficus rumbled, crouching back and studying the glowing sorceress thoughtfully. "But I didn't claw my way up through the ranks of the demon lords, acquiring sorcery beyond their feeble imaginations to enhance my innate powers only to be defeated here by the likes of you!" Raising both hands, he launched a blast of purely concentrated fire that raced towards White Raven with incredible speed.

But she was ready. The white light met the red and they struggled against each other for a brief moment before the white triumphed. The energy exploded and slammed Veneficus head first into the wall; the entire fortress shook as he impacted and lay still.

"Hurry!" White Raven called, gesturing to the others. "Get to the portal! He's not dead, and I don't think we want to be around when he wakes up."

"Agreed," Robin said, running to the portal and diving in, followed by the others. White Raven paused, took one last look around the chamber, and then followed her friends through.

She hung suspended in the void, rushing with terrible speed towards a destination she couldn't see. Her friends were up ahead of her, and she focused her power so that she could enhance her speed further and join them- but just as she gathered her will, a hand latched onto her leg with terrible strength. She turned to see Veneficus hanging off her, grinning madly.

"I will be free!" he shouted. "You have defied me, and your world will pay the price. I will be Veneficus, king and god of Earth, and you all will be my slaves and beg on your knees for my mercy!"

"No," White Raven said. "Not now, and not ever. _Azarath Metrion Zinthos_!" As she spoke the three words of power, she felt the energy build up within her, and then she released it at once with terrible power. Veneficus was blasted from her leg and screamed as he fell backwards into the void, clutching his smoking hands. He turned and glared up at her hatefully- and then he fell, sucked away into the void until he vanished from sight. White Raven watched him until he was completely gone. "Goodbye, brother," she said quietly.

And then, though she didn't know how, she sensed that they were nearing the end of their journey. One by one the Titans ahead of her vanished. White Raven steeled herself, and then darkness washed over her.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Raven came to herself slowly, sitting up and groaning. She was in a bed in what looked like the Titans' Tower sickbay, and he clothes were back to their normal color. In the beds beside her, she could see the other Titans waking up and examining their own bodies excitedly.

"I'm me again!" Beast Boy shouted.

"As am I!" said Starfire, flying out from under the covers, grabbing Robin in the next bed over, and wrapping him in a tight hug. "Isn't it glorious?"

"Starfire!" Robin shouted, or tried to through the Tamaranean hug. "Look out!" The other Titans turned in the direction he was looking to see Bumblebee suddenly come flying across the room, landing with a bang against the blocked window. The other Titans East were with her, but seemed to be faring little better, and in the middle was…

"Madame Rouge," Robin growled. "You're trespassing."

"Well," the shapeshifting assassin said, "back in the land of the living, are we? No matter- I will finish you no matter your condition."

"Hey, guys," Bumblebee said weakly from her position against the wall. "Thanks for joining the party. Now, can you help us deal with a rowdy houseguest?"

"With pleasure." Robin leaped from his bed and grabbed his weapons, Starfire hovering at his side with starbolts at the ready. Beast Boy shifted into a wolf form and began to circle, growling menacingly, while Cyborg leveled his sonic cannon. Raven wrapped her cloak around herself and vanished into the shadows, reappearing behind Rouge with dark energy gathering around her hands. Beside her she saw the Titans East pulling themselves to their feet and joining the circle, looking battered but resolute. Madame Rouge looked slowly from one Titan to the next, faint worry showing in her expression.

"What's the matter?" Bumblebee asked her. "Didn't expect this, did you?"

"Maybe you're a match for five Titans," Cyborg added. "Want to try your luck against ten?"

"I could match ten _thousand_!" Rouge snarled. "Your words do not intimidate me!"

"Really?" Robin asked. "All right then. Bumblebee- you with me?"

"Right with you." She and Robin exchanged glances, and then the two team leaders said as one, "Titans, GO!"

Madame Rouge's arms whipped forward, elongating into whips and sprouting razor blades, but before they could strike she was battered on all sides by attacks from all of the Titans. As she turned to dodge or block each that she saw, she merely opened herself to others, whether it be intercepting starbolts leaving her open to stingers, or snatching arrows from midair taking up focus that would have allowed her to dodge dark energy. Rouge staggered, her body taking damage and reforming itself, no blow landing. Finally she stood straight and regarded the Titans coldly.

"It seems this task requires additional resources," she said. "But I'm not through with you children yet. We'll finish this another time!" Dropping into a crouch, she rolled under a startled Cyborg's legs and dashed for the window, fingers elongating into claws that tore through the metal plates like cardboard. Crouching there, she gave the Titans one last hateful look and then hurled herself into the sky. She fell briefly, but then Raven caught sight of her flying away, arms changed into huge leathery wings. Soon, she was lost to sight.

"Should we go after her?" Aqualad asked.

"Tracking Madame Rouge is like trying to find a needle in a haystack," said Robin. "She could be anyone, or anything. She said she'd be back, and we she is, we'll bring her down for good."

"Glad you guys came back when you did," Bumblebee said. "A few more minutes and it would have been over for us and you. What happened to you all, anyway? Did Mumbo really do that to you?"

"Let's just say, it's a long story," Raven said. "And we're all glad that it's finally over."


	13. Epilogue: Homecoming

**Epilogue: Homecoming**

Veneficus roared with pain as his half-sister's magic coursed through him, tearing away his grip on her leg and flinging him out into the nothingness. Everything was going wrong, he realized, and it had been ever since Raven broke his control over the Titans. That had been something he considered to be impossible, but somehow she had done it- somehow she and those mortal insects possessed a strength that was beyond all his dark arts and infernal power.

He had never truly understood why his father had failed against them- he'd assumed that Trigon's arrogance had finally caught up to him, and that overconfidence alone had been his undoing. But perhaps there was something more, some strength that let these children stand against the most feared being in the cosmos and prevail…

But that revelation was no help to Veneficus now. Raven had vanished, returned to her own world through the portal, and now it too was closed at both ends. There was no going forward or back for the demon sorcerer, for without his spellbooks and staff he lacked the fine control to create a portal on his own. He was trapped here now, lost and alone in the empty void between dimensions.

Veneficus the sorcerer, son of Trigon, fell through the darkness forever.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

"I still don't believe it," Bumblebee said, shaking her head. "You guys spent a couple of days stuck in just about the worst possible place, and you made it out okay. That's just… whoa."

"Okay?" Beast Boy asked. "I don't think I'm _ever_ going to get that stink out of my nose!"

Robin ignored him. "And I'd just like to thank you for watching the city while we were out of it," he told Bumblebee. "Sounds like you all had a pretty rough time of it yourselves. Crime waves aren't fun, and I've fought Madame Rouge- I know how tough she is."

Bumblebee shrugged. "Hey, what are friends for? Anyway, now that things are normal again, we really need to get back to Steel City. It's no Gotham, but it's still a city that needs heroes."

"I understand," Robin said. "Good luck." Bumblebee and her team turned and walked over to where their airship was parked on the Tower roof, but before she boarded the leader of Titans East looked back over her shoulder and her eyes found Raven's.

"So, that Veneficus guy," she said quietly. "Was he really your brother?"

"Half brother," Raven corrected. "And yes, he was, at least in blood." Her eyes shifted to the other Titans. "But where it counts, I know who my real family are, and neither Veneficus nor Trigon are any part of it."

"And you're sure he got what he deserved?"

Raven nodded. "Yes. He fell into the abyss without enough time to get to either end of the portal, or any way to open his own. He's falling through the cracks in space and time, and with luck, he'll be swallowed up and forgotten."

"Good," said Bumblebee. "There's nothing worse than when the bad guy gets away. Glad to have you all back, and hope to see you again soon!" With that, she climbed into her cockpit and shut the canopy, and after a few moments the engines roared to life and the airship climbed into the air.

The Titans stayed on the roof and watched until it was lost to sight, and then went back inside the Tower, all of them glad that they were back in their home, and that their friends were there with them.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Madame Rouge knelt on the metal floor, eyes fixed on the hem of her employer's violet cape directly in front of her. "I failed," she said in quiet, angry voice. "The Titans and the Titans East both survived; the Titans have been freed from their stasis and together they managed to drive me off. Even I can't fight them all, but if you give me a team- just two or three of your best- and I will finish them once and for all."

Her employer laughed softly and turned to face her, the dim lights of the command center reflecting off his armor and from the eyes that were barely visible through the slits of his cloth mask. "The Titans East have already left," he said. "The chance to take them all at once has past. But it is not important. I saw an opportunity and was unable to take advantage of it, but my plans proceed. Removing the Titans would have been a pleasant bonus, but they cannot stop me now." His cold eyes met Rouge's. "Rise. I am not going to punish you- I will still have uses for one of your unique talents."

""Very good," she said, standing. "Direct me, and I will bring your enemies down one by one."

Her employer chuckled. "No doubt you will," he said. Turning away again, he walked to the edge of the viewing platform and looked down over the room where his minions worked, coordinating a network that would soon span the globe. Rouge came to stand beside him, placing her gloved hands on the railing beside his and looking out over the beating heart of his criminal empire.

"No doubt you will," the HIVE Master* repeated to himself, and though his face was hidden, Rouge could tell that he smiled.

*To learn more about the HIVE Master, formerly the Fifth Director of the HIVE, see my earlier fanfic _Luck of the Draw. _


End file.
